Battleborn may not have been nearly as popular as its shooter/MOBA competiton, but it's been receiving regular content updates and changes. Back in June, it added a substantive free trial to get new players on board, as well as a new competitive multiplayer mode. Despite this and the efforts of players to keep the game alive, Gearbox is winding down on actively developing the game.
Speaking on the official Gearbox forums, Battleborn creative director Randy Varnell made the announcement that "there will be no more Battleplans and there is currently no planned content after the Fall Update," Varnell said. After that update, which adds Borderlands-themed characters skins, balance changes, and a new multiplayer map, the Battleborn team will shift over to working on Gearbox's next, unannounced game. "Although I’m sad my time on Battleborn is coming to a close, I’m happy to announce that I will play a significant role on this highly anticipated but unannounced game," Varnell said. "I’m sure you’ll be hearing some from me again in the future regarding Gearbox games."
Although it will not be receiving further updates, Battleborn servers will remain active "for the foreseeable future," according to Varnell.
Our Take
I'll be the first to say that I didn't love Battleborn (it was "alright" in a genre that demands more in order to keep players loyal), but it's still sad to a multiplayer game end its life. Some of the comments on Varnell's post left me wistful; although there aren't as many of them as Gearbox would have liked, people do still love Battleborn, and seeing them lose something they love is disappointing. C'est la vie.