Remember Battleborn, the beleaguered hero shooter from Gearbox Software that’s been winding down for arounda year now? The game that released in 2016 and blended a number of different genres together is officially coming to an end in just a few days when the servers get taken offline on January 31st. Once the servers are disabled, Battleborn will no longer be playable in any capacity, so those who’ve been active in the game or are already feeling nostalgic for it should get in their last few matches while they can.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Gearbox Software and 2K announced back in 2019 that the game would begin shuttering its online services such as buying the premium currency known as “Platinum.” Significant updates for the game had long since halted prior to that announcement, however, when Gearbox announced in late 2017 that the game would get one final update that happened to add Borderlands skins among other things.
Please note that on January 31, 2021, Battleborn’s servers will be deactivated, at which point the game will no longer be playable. To learn more, please refer to this detailed FAQ: https://t.co/G6qCknuunt
— 2K Support (@2KSupport) January 7, 2021
Fast-forward to January 2021 and it’s time for Battleborn to call it quits. While 2K previously announced that the servers would be shut down on January 25th, it revised that announcement at the start of 2021 to give Battleborn players one more week with the game.
Battleborn was heavily based on the hero shooter formula with different characters possessing unique abilities and combat styles split between shooter, melee, and hybrid tactics, but it also had some MOBA elements to it as well. It featured defined lanes for players to hold and attack with some game modes tasking players with ushering minions across the map similar to how you’d siege an enemy’s base.
While the fall of Battleborn has been dissected many times over and can be attributed to a number of different factors, part of its downfall can certainly be associated with Overwatch’s success. The game released just weeks before Overwatch did in May 2016 during a time when many people were already primed for Overwatch’s release and had their pre-orders secured ahead of Blizzard’s new game’s launch. While Overwatch and Battleborn weren’t alike in every way, they were similar enough for Overwatch’s launch to cast a shadow on Battleborn’s.
Battleborn’s servers will officially be shut down on January 31st at which point neither the multiplayer modes nor the campaign will be playable.
