Battleborn will be shutting down in January 2021, Gearbox confirms it will be unplayable after shutdown

By Samuel Tolbert
published

Genre-busting heroes have died.

Promotional cover art for Battleborn
Promotional cover art for Battleborn (Image credit: Gearbox Software)

What you need to know

  • Battleborn is a 2016 first-person hero shooter developed by Gearbox Software.
  • Today, Gearbox announced that the game has been pulled from online storefronts.
  • Gearbox is disabling microtransaction purchases on February 24, 2020.
  • The game's servers will be taken offline in January 2021 and it will then be completely unplayable.

While Gearbox Software's latest game, Borderlands 3, is doing quite well with over 7 million copies sold, the studio's previous major release isn't. Today, Gearbox announced that the studio is beginning to sunset Battleborn's lifespan and the game will be shut down in January 2021. Battleborn has already been pulled from digital storefronts and the option to purchase microtransactions is being taken away next year.

After February 24, 2020, players will be unable to purchase any premium currency to use in-game, though any existing currency can still be spent in the online shop. When January 2021 arrives, the game's servers will be shut down and it will be unplayable in any form, including the single-player mode.

In the words of Gearbox Software co-founder Randy Pitchford, Battleborn was an "FPS; hobby-grade coop campaign; genre-blended, multi-mode competitive e-sports; meta-growth, choice + epic Battleborn Heroes!" If you have any outstanding currency to spend in Battleborn, or you're a big fan of the game, we highly recommend enjoying it until it is completely shut down in January 2021.

Pandora calls

 (opens in new tab)
Borderlands 3: Standard Edition

Prepare for the fight of the galaxy

Get ready to jump into a brand new storyline, with four new Vault Hunters to choose from, two deadly villains to take down, ten billion cultists doing the villains' bidding, and a truly innumerable variety of guns.

Xbox (opens in new tab)

Main

Samuel Tolbert
Samuel Tolbert

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

6 Comments
  • I'm really surprised that this game was never added to Game Pass. It might have sparked some new interest in the game and given it a second chance at life. From everything I heard, the game wasn't bad. The problem was that it just wasn't as good as Overwatch.
  • I'm gonna pay a small tribute here to Gigantic, another game like this one that was a lot of fun to play but was killed forever. We will remember fondly these games that gave us great moments. They deserved better. But that's life. Good guys don't always finish the race.
  • Never played it, but I agree with the other post, maybe gamepass could have saved it. Games as a service and online games have finite life, I wonder how long in the future sea of thieves will sail off for the last time.
  • Saddest part? People who bought and loved this game have nothing to play for their investment and support when the servers go offline. No campaign, nothing.
  • I own this game. I could never, even in its prime find enough players to play. In addition, most achievements required some form of multiplayer to complete to retrieve a final skin. I spent many hours playing this, but yeah. Overwatch was smooth and fast paced. This wasn't but I don't regret the time I had.
  • Unfortunately people played this and expected Overwatch, but they aren't even the same genre.