Battleborn had the misfortune of coming out around the same time as Overwatch. A new payment model could finally help 2K’s team shooter stand out.
Gearbox announced today the studio’s Battleborn is getting a free-to-play option. This will bring more players to the game, which came out last May for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
2K published Battleborn a bit before Overwatch, Blizzard’s team-based shooter that became a huge hit and has more than 30 million players. GamesBeat said it buried its potential in our review. While Battleborn and Overwatch have their differences, they’re both team-based shooters that feature a cast of cartoon-like heroes. Overwatch’s soaring success overshadowed Battleborn.
The Battleborn Free Trial gives players access to unlimited multiplayer matches (so it’s not really much a “trial”) in all of its competitive modes. You’ll have access to a rotating roster of six heroes, but you can permanently unlock one of Battleborn’s 30 characters using in-game money or hard currency. This is a similar system used by MOBAs (multiplayer online battle arenas) like League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm.
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You can still upgrade to the full version of the game, which includes all heroes and story-based campaigns.
Battleborn has MOBA-like qualities of its own. While it plays from a first-person perspective, characters level up during play and earn cash during battle that they can use during the match.
Most MOBAs launch as free-to-play games, but Battleborn tried it out as a paid product. Now that it’s finally becoming free, it could bring a second life to the shooter.
