Battleborn, the online shooter from Borderlands studio Gearbox, is ceasing developer support by announcing no more patches will be coming to the game after the Fall Update. Creative director Randy Varnell made the announcement in a forum post, stating, “As of this week, there will be no more Battleplans and there is currently no planned content after the Fall Update.”
Although support is ending, Varnell assured players that Battleborn is “here to stay” and servers will remain open “for the foreseeable future.” So you can continue to play the game, but don’t expect any new skins or bug fixes after the last big update, which brings Borderlands-themed skins and other minor changes.
Battleborn launched in May 2016 to solid reviews, but it had a fatal flaw — it released just weeks before Blizzard’s Overwatch. The two games butted heads as colorful hero-based shooters, and Battleborn couldn’t capture players like Overwatch did from the get go. It ended up underperforming for publisher 2K Games, and it was essentially made free-to-play just months after launch.
“I’ve been working on Battleborn nearly exclusively since 2012, and in some ways, that work stretches back to 2009 for me,” Varnell said. “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.”
The creative director will be transitioning to working on another huge, announced Gearbox project, which could very well be Borderlands 3.
“I want to personally thank you for giving Battleborn a chance, and dipping down into a new universe with us,” Varnell said. “We make games for you. And many of you have shared with us how much Battleborn has meant to you personally.”