Battleborn is shutting down, game removed from digital stores

2K Games is “sunsetting” Gearbox Software’s online multiplayer game Battleborn, which will go offline and become unplayable in January 2021. The publisher announced the game’s end in a series of tweets and an official support notice on 2K Games’ website.

The sunsetting process has already begun; 2K has removed Battleborn from digital storefronts, and the game is no longer available to download from the PlayStation Store, Steam, and Xbox Games Store.

2K is ending virtual currency sales — platinum in Battleborn — as of Feb. 24, 2020. The game’s servers will remain active and the game will continue to be playable until January 2021, according to 2K, but after that Battleborn will no longer be playable — including the game’s single-player campaign.

The publisher say it’s ending support for Battleborn to focus its efforts and resources on other projects.

Battleborn launched on PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One in May 2016 to mixed reviews. The hero shooter was praised for its ambition, but critics knocked Gearbox’s game for being grind-heavy and overly complicated. Battleborn also had the bad luck to launch just prior to the much more successful Overwatch, to which it was frequently compared. Battleborn went free to play in June 2017, and Gearbox released the game’s final content update the following September.

Update: This story has been updated to clarify that 2K Games is orchestrating the shutdown process for Battleborn, not developer Gearbox Software.