Poor Battleborn. Gearbox’s hopeful MOBA-Hero Shooter had high hopes but was a complete non-starter when it launched a week before Overwatch in May of last year.
After a year and a half of updates developer Gearbox Software has officially pulled the plug. Battleborn’s servers will continue to stay up, but the game will essentially remain in maintenance mode, with no new updates forthcoming after the final planned Fall Update.
Battleborn’s Creative Director Randy Varnell took to the official forums to deliver news: “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.”
“I want to personally thank you for giving Battleborn a chance, and dipping down into a new universe with us,” Varnell continued. “We make games for you. And many of you have shared with us how much Battleborn has meant to you personally.”
Varnell mentioned that he and “many folks at Gearbox are working on a highly anticipated project,” confirming what Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford teased during their PAX West 2017 panel. Clearly they’re busy working on Borderlands 3, though it’s yet to be formally announced or revealed.
As a final gift, there’s a free SHiFT code to unlock a skin for Deande. You can enter the following code in the ShiFT Menu under Extras. You have to redeem it by October 2.
ZKK33-FT59R-KCK3S-XCR33-B56HB
Since launch Battleborn added 5 new DLC characters to bring the total number of heroes to 30. Two more multiplayer modes were also added as well as five story missions.
After failing to garner a healthy multiplayer audience, Battleborn transitioned to a free-to-play model earlier this summer. The Free Trial offered a rotation of heroes. In-game currency could be earned to purchase more, like most free-to-play MOBAs, or to unlock the full game, including the co-op story missions.
My own thoughts on the game were mixed; you can read my review here.
