This generation’s whipping boy is finally being shown some mercy as Gearbox have announced that they will no longer be updating Battleborn past this autumn.
The move comes so that they can focus on the development of the upcoming Borderlands game, which, according to Randy Pitchford, already has 90% of the Gearbox staff working on it.
Creative director Randy Varnell, who has been working on Battleborn since 2012, took to the game’s forums to break the news that the game will no longer be updated but will continue to be playable and receive one last content dump.
“As of this week, there will be no more Battleplans and there is currently no planned content after the Fall Update. Details of any future changes or news will be made on our forums or through social media, so keep your radars on.
“Never fear! Battleborn is here to stay. Nothing is changing with Battleborn, and the servers will be up and active for the foreseeable future. We announced the Fall Update for the game at PAX including some new skins, themed around some of your favorite Borderlands characters! That update will also include some updated title art (more full bar titles!) for the more significant challenges in the game, as well as some additional Finisher Boosts and Taunts. Also, there are minor balance changes in that patch.”
Battleborn’s struggles are well-documented. Releasing in suicidally close proximity to Blizzard’s monolithic Overwatch, the similarities between the two games and the substantial marketing and brand of the latter meant that there was only ever going to be one winner.
The playerbase for Battleborn, although dedicated, never reached the massive heights needed for sustainability that Gearbox and 2K were after. It went pseudo-F2P in June, but it seems like that didn’t pan out – the game has been retailing for between £5 and £10 pretty much everywhere in the UK since almost the start of the year.
While Battleborn may not have achieved greatness, it did show the value of making the fans you do have count. Gearbox may not be the most beloved of names in the industry, but at least they didn’t jump overboard when everything started falling apart.
For some semblance, check out our pre-release coverage of Battleborn below.
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