Poor Battleborn. It is arguably 2016's biggest tough luck story on the gaming calendar simply by having the misfortune of being compared to Overwatch for reasons that are mostly based on assumption rather than fact. Battleborn is very much its own game, though it may not look like it on the surface, and is quite a good one too. Unfortunately, the narrative for Battleborn was seemingly written before the game even came out, and as such, the game has performed below expectations.
Take-Two's CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke about the game after the release of a financial report. He said:
"While the game launched to solid reviews, its performance in the market has been below our expectations. 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….we're being very frank about where we are, because we're a transparent company…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. We're just telling you where we're at now."
According to the company's financial report, Take-Two had spent $28.8 million in large part due to "higher marketing expense for the launches of Battleborn and our upcoming lineup." To be fair, a lot of Battleborn's marketing failed to convey what the game was actually about, instead focusing primarily on CG animations about the characters, leading many to believe that this was a story driven shooter, like Borderlands.
While Battleborn did have a story, it was hardly the point of the game, as it played out more like a MOBA with FPS mechanics, and its highest points being its incredibly tense multiplayer matches. Battleborn had just recently outlined plans for its DLC and appears very focused on expanding its player base (which appears to prefer Borderlands).
Source: [Eurogamer]
