When Battleborn released in May of 2016 it was an exciting time. The game marked the first original new game from developers Gearbox Software since the first Borderlands. It was an exciting time.
There was also another little game due to release at almost the same time by the name of Overwatch. The two hero shooters were in direct competition with each other and there was always going to be one winner. The mighty Battleborn. Right?
Wrong. Battleborn did not do well out of this competition at all, which is a shame as I had chosen to buy it instead of Overwatch, a game that is still going from strength to strength and even recently launched on the Switch.
Battleborn continued to flounder against its rival until a free to play model was launched in June 2017. This version had less content than the paid version, yet still wasn’t enough to save the game.
Fast forward to 2019 and the final nail has been hammered into Battleborns coffin as publishers 2K have announced plans to shut down the servers completely, rendering the game unplayable. A real kick in the teeth to those 7 people who still jump on from time to time.
The process will be gradual, should you wish to get those last final few games in. From today the game will no longer be available to buy on digital platforms. After February 24, 2020, the in-game currency of platinum will no longer be available for purchase and finally, the servers themselves will be shut down in January 2021.
After that Battleborn will no longer be playable.
Once that happens the only thing it’ll be useful for is a coaster or a reminder of what could have been.
I really wanted to like Battleborn, I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it, which is a shame as I had loved the Borderlands series. Should you be a fan, you’d better get those last games in while you can. For everyone else, there’s always Overwatch.
