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Moving on: Gearbox wraps up active development on Battleborn

Gearbox Software's hero-shooter Battleborn is effectively being laid to rest, as the studio prepares to wind down development.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

September 18, 2017

1 Min Read
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Gearbox Software's hero-shooter Battleborn is effectively being laid to rest, as the studio prepares to wind down development.

Writing on the Gearbox forums, creative director Randy Varnell explained the game won't be receiving any more updates after the next one arrives this Fall, although the servers will remain up for the "forseeable future."

"As of this week, there will be no more Battleplans and there is currently no planned content after the Fall Update," he wrote. "Details of any future changes or news will be made on our forums or through social media, so keep your radars on."

Battleborn launched in May 2016 at the same time as Blizzard's own hero shooter, Overwatch. Predicatbly, the two games drew comparions, but while Overwatch went on to amass a huge following, Battleborn struggled to make a similar mark.

Gearbox tried to shake things up by toying with differnet pricing and monetization models, but in the end Battleborn failed to escape the shadow of Overwatch, and now the studio wants to completely focus on its upcoming projects.

"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," continued Varnell. 

"Athough I'm sad my time on Battleborn is 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."

About the Author

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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