Report: Battleborn’s becoming free to play

Battleborn may soon be free to play, Kotaku is reporting. A source close to developer Gearbox Software say that the multiplayer action game will adopt the free-to-play model later this year.

Kotaku’s unnamed source said that Gearbox and publisher 2K could announce the change as soon as this November. Although it launched earlier this year at full price, Kotaku’s source noted that Battleborn was intended to be free-to-play from the get-go, until 2K changed course.

Sales have slowed for Battleborn since its launch in early May, and the game has struggled to topple its closest competitor, Overwatch, which arrived at the end of that month. Comparisons between the two have often left Battleborn as the butt of a joke, despite some positive reviews:

Transforming the $60 retail release into a free-to-play title is not unprecedented for 2K, whose controversial survival-based multiplayer game Evolve has found renewed success since it became a free download. 2K pulled the paid version of Evolve this summer, only to relaunch it under the name Evolve Stage 2 shortly thereafter.

Kotaku’s source also said that Gearbox Software is indeed publishing a remaster of Bulletstorm, following a possible leak earlier today when a rating popped up on Brazil’s classification board. We’ve reached out to Gearbox about both moves and will update when we hear back.