Home Gaming It’s the end of the road for Battleborn as it prepares for a total shutdown in 2021

It’s the end of the road for Battleborn as it prepares for a total shutdown in 2021

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Battleborn (1)

Battleborn? Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in many a year…

Originally set up to be The Big Thing™ over at Gearbox Studios, the ambitious Battleborn was anything but that. Sure it had personality, colour and a great story, but it also had a confusingly awful fusion of MOBA and hero shooter mechanics that just never clicked with players despite the game clearly being a passion project whose enthusiasm you could feel. It did get better in the months to come, but Battleborn soon found itself in a one-sided battle against Blizzard’s Overwatch that delivered a killing blow to the fledgling new kid on the block.

Battleborn went into life support mode once Gearbox announced that all updates would be halted in 2017, and now its parent 2K Games is finally ready to pull the plug on it in 2021.

“Today we have begun the process of gradually sunsetting Battleborn,” 2K wrote on Twitter.

Battleborn (2)

Starting February 24, 2020, you will no longer be able to purchase virtual currency for use in the game. The game’s servers will remain active and the game will continue to be playable until January 2021. However, once servers are deactivated, Battleborn will no longer be playable. We’re extremely proud of the work that went into the game, and want to extend our deep appreciation to all the fans for their support. We’ll continue to provide updates on the sunsetting of the title when appropriate.

Sad news then, especially for an incredibly dedicated community who still hold regular Battleborn events to show their love and support for the title. One thing about Battleborn that gets frequently glossed over, is just how much fun it was in the PvE department after a few fixes had been applied. All of that will of course be rendered non-functional once the servers for this always-online game go offline, which is just another reminder of the hazards of live service titles which don’t always hit the mark.

Last Updated: November 26, 2019

17 Comments

  1. Battleborn, May 2016.
    Battledied, January 2021.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      November 26, 2019 at 08:38

      Heh, ok, I NE’d

      Reply

  2. Admiral Chief

    November 26, 2019 at 08:38

    I honestly absolutely totally forgot about this, a shame actually. I really enjoyed the launch video

    Reply

  3. jimz0r

    November 26, 2019 at 08:38

    RIP

    Reply

  4. Son of Banana Jim

    November 26, 2019 at 08:55

    I kind of liked it, but once again it just shows you that these online games / live service titles have a definite expiration date. Once those servers go down, that’s it. You can’t even fire it up 10 years from now to show the kids…. Or to just mess around with it for a few hours.

    I might reinstall it, purely to pick up a few last trophies. Press F

    Reply

  5. Son of Banana Jim

    November 26, 2019 at 09:38

    The fact that i can still reinstall warcraft 3 or starcraft nearly 2 decades after I bought them is why my opinion on live service crap will never change, and why streaming game services can join Lindelof and Rian Johnson in the sea.

    Reply

  6. Yondaime

    November 26, 2019 at 11:26

    People were still playing this?!

    Reply

  7. Hammersteyn

    November 26, 2019 at 08:55

    • Son of Banana Jim

      November 26, 2019 at 09:10

      Amen brother! Live service games are the biggest bait-and-switch ever. The publishers get their money and we eventually get a dicking.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        November 26, 2019 at 09:15

        Long live SP games!

        Reply

        • Son of Banana Jim

          November 26, 2019 at 09:15

          All hail SP games, death to live service!

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief

            November 26, 2019 at 09:15

            Well, if the “live service” (Steam) dies, then I cannot get to a lot of my SP games…

          • Son of Banana Jim

            November 26, 2019 at 09:33

            And that is why physical disks are still the best – provided the full game installation is on there, and not just a hyperlink

      • Hammersteyn

        November 26, 2019 at 09:28

        It can work though, Destiny 1 was on the right track till the Eververse store plomp down like a tumour on the game.

        Reply

        • Son of Banana Jim

          November 26, 2019 at 09:33

          Ugh, i hate cosmetic stores.

          Reply

          • Hammersteyn

            November 26, 2019 at 09:49

            Right, we used to unlock everything in games by playing it. Now it’s DLC and people can’t stop buying the shit.

    • Hammersteyn

      November 26, 2019 at 11:09

      Sad story though

      Reply

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