Battleborn

About

Battleborn is a multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video game released by 2K Games for the Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One systems. The game is known for its unique combination of traditional FPS-style gameplay with elements taken from multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games.

Gameplay

In Battleborn, player's select a game mode and one of 25 different characters with varying attributes, abilities and play styles. After purchasing equipment for the character with an in-game currency called "shards," players are spawned into a battleground with a character level of 1. New abilities are unlocked with each level gained by killing enemies and completing various objectives around the map.

History

On July 8th, 2014, the game was officially announced with a reveal trailer released by Gearbox Software and 2K Games (shown below).

In April, beta versions of the game were released for PlayStation 4 and Windows systems, which received upwards of two million participating players. On May 3rd, 2016, Battleborn was released for the Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms.

Online Presence

On April 28th, 2014, the BattlebornGame YouTube^[8] channel was created, which received more than 34 million video views and 49,900 subscribers in the next three years. On July 8th, the /r/battleborn subreddit was launched for discussions about the game. The same day, the Battleborn Wiki^[4] was created, gathering upwards of 195 pages in the next two years. Also on July 8th, a Facebook^[6] page titled "Battleborn" was launched. On Twitch,^[5] a Battleborn directory page contains links to live streams of the game. As of June 2016, the @Battleborn^[7] Twitter feed has accumulated upwards of 108,000 followers.

Comparisons to Overwatch

The game is often compared to Blizzard's team-based FPS game Overwatch due to their similar release dates, use of a first-person perspective and multiplayer gameplay. On May 7th, 2016, YouTuber TotalBiscuit uploaded a video titled "Battleborn vs. Overwatch For Dummies," which argued that they were "not similar games" (shown below).

On May 23rd, 2016, FunnyJunk^[10] user omegafriend posted a screenshot of a Steam user's forum post professing a preference for Battleborn over Overwatch along with a photo of a young man wearing a fedora (shown below, left). On May 30th, Tumblr^[9] user negyek posted a comic in which the Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch logos team up to beat up a Battleborn logo (shown below, right). Within two weeks, the post gathered upwards of 8,600 notes.

On YouTube

On May 3rd, YouTuber CorridorDigital uploaded a live-action comedy sketch in which a group of men perform various "trick shots" using Battleborn weaponry (shown below, left). The same day, YouTuber Delirious uploaded a short animated film based on Battleborn, which gathered upwards of 1.1 million views and 1,700 comments in six weeks (shown below, right).

On May 10th, the AngryJoeShow channel posted a "rapid fire review" of Battleborn (shown below, left). On MAy 17th, the Smosh Games channel released an "Honest Trailer" for the game (shown below, right).

Reception

Battleborn has received mixed reviews, receiving a score of 70/100 for PlayStation 4^[2] and PC^[1] versions on the review aggregation website Metacritic.

Search Interest

External References