Battleborn launched in May to sales that fell vastly below that expected of the FPS-MOBA hybrid. But despite its poor performance, publisher 2K will continue to support the game.
Strauss Zelnick — the boss of 2K’s parent company Take-Two — addressed Battleborn’s disappointing reception during the company’s Q1 2017 financial report:
“While the game launched to solid reviews, its performance in the market has been below our expectations.”
Take-Two was undoubtedly hoping Battleborn would enjoy the same degree of success as its fellow Gearbox-developed franchise Borderlands. Alas, a strong marketing campaign and comparisons to the developer’s quirky and oh-so-addictive shooter weren’t enough to persuade players to flock en masse to support the new IP.
However Zelnick remains optimistic that Battleborn’s fan base has the potential to grow, and stated that 2K won’t be abandoning the game any time soon:
“We think there remains an opportunity to grow the audience for this unique experience over time and 2K will continue to drive engagement and recurrent consumer spending on the title through add-on content and virtual currency.”
The latest effort to reverse Battleborn’s fortunes comes with the release of new hero Pendles and an event offering players the chance to earn double XP — which is currently running until 8am PT on August 10th.
Zelnick added:
“We’re still delivering new content to Battleborn. Audiences love Battleborn. We still have virtual currency coming for Battleborn. We’re not counting it out for a minute.”
In our Battleborn review we found that, “Gearbox Software’s latest game is a hilarious good time, but still has a few flaws.”
What do you think? Can Battleborn be saved and turned into a profitable game for 2K? Let us know in the comments!
