Gearbox’s Randy Varnell, Creative Director of Battleborn, has taken to the Gearbox forums to deliver a message. That message is that after its Fall update Battleborn will not be getting anymore content including things like Battleplans. The move comes as the studio moves onto new projects that are yet to be announced, though the decision to cease major work on Battleborn shouldn’t come too much as a shock.
Battleborn didn’t quite get a large playerbase when it launched and struggled to generate a large community around it despite Gearbox’s efforts. Unfortunately for Battleborn Overwatch launched around the same time and became the game that people went for in search of the multiplayer fix, despite both games offering different types of experiences.
Anyway you can read Randy’s full statement below.
Hello Friends –
It’s been a while since I’ve communicated with you directly, so I wanted to take the opportunity to write to you as Battleborn rounds another milestone in its life.
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.
If you’ve been paying attention to recent news from the Gearbox Panel at PAX West, you’ll have heard that many folks at Gearbox are working on a highly anticipated project. Although I’m sad my time on Battlebornis coming to a close, I’m happy to announce that I will play a significant role on this highly anticipated but unannounced game, and I’m sure you’ll be hearing some from me again in the future regarding Gearbox games.
I’ve been working on Battleborn nearly exclusively since 2012, and in some ways, that work stretches back to 2009 for me. It’s been a long labor of love with many of my good friends at Gearbox, and I’m proud to have shared that journey with you, our community. Your spirit and loyalty have been a constant inspiration to the team at Gearbox.
Also, I want to personally thank you for giving Battleborn a chance, and dipping down into a new universe with us. We make games for you. And many of you have shared with us how much Battleborn has meant to you personally.
It’s always a bittersweet time when transitioning from one project to another, but also offers the opportunity to step back and enjoy the game we created. Keep an eye out for me in game!
For now, Commander Jythri is signing off and taking the first transport back to a wonderful box of surprises.
You are awesome.
For Solus.
Source: Gearbox
aerobes
I hate that years of labour for devs can be destroyed in mere seconds by consumers but this is the world we live in.
The Lone Steven
Battleborn, a game that had a chance of success but just had nothing but bad luck. OverWatch stole all of it’s thunder, a free to play game that was similar to battleborn stole it’s attempt to salvage itself and it just couldn’t recover. Which is a massive shame as it looks like a fun, creative shooter. Sadly, it could convince Gearbox to not do this type of game again and i fully believe that if it weren’t for the unfortunate launch clashing with Overwatch and Overwatch burying it along with several attempts to salvage it, it could have been just as big as Overwatch or a big rival to it.
Tuffcub
Er Overwatch isnt F2P. However, launching Battleborn within days of Overwatch was very silly.
MrYd
What option did they have though? Delay it a month or two? That’s always a popular move that never upsets the bottom half of the internet.
That would probably have been even worse given the weird comparisons people seem to make between the two games, even though their completely different (Battleborn has an entertaining story mode for a start, and is also fun to play)
Maybe they should have made it F2P sometime around a year ago?
And the “highly anticipated but unannounced” game is Borderlands 3, right? Because if it isn’t…
Stefan L
Battleborn was out a month before Overwatch. The damage was already done during the marketing campaigns and the simple fact it wasn’t Borderlands 3.