Gearbox denies Battleborn free-to-play rumors, teases free trial

Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford has denied claims made in a Kotaku article yesterday about Battleborn going free-to-play by the end of this year.Kotaku said they were told by "a person familiar with plans for the game" that it was originally intended to be free-to-play, but was sold as a $60 product due to pressure from publisher 2K.

Vincent Yeung
September 30, 2016
in Xbox One

Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford has denied claims made in a Kotaku article yesterday about Battleborn going free-to-play by the end of this year.

Kotaku said they were told by “a person familiar with plans for the game” that it was originally intended to be free-to-play, but was sold as a $60 product due to pressure from publisher 2K.

Pitchford took to Twitter to respond to the article. “I was just told about a reckless story about Battleborn going F2P that is false. There are no plans to convert Battleborn free to play,” he said.

I was just told about a reckless story about Battleborn going F2P that is false. There are no plans to convert Battleborn free to play.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) September 29, 2016

Immediately following, Pitchford added that there are “unannounced plans” for some sort of free trial version of the game.

We have some unannounced plans to do a trial version of the game that would be free and from which retail can be purchased along with DLC.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) September 29, 2016

The trial will most likely not be a timed demo, Pitchford explained. Aside from announcing the company’s unofficial plans for the game, no further details about the free trial were divulged.

@jasonschreier I don't think timed demo is right. I think we need to sort our plans FIRST and then announce them. Call in a few months.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) September 30, 2016

Battleborn released May of this year, the same month that fellow hero shooter Overwatch was released. The game is currently available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Stay tuned for more updates on the game expected to be announced later this year. Let us know your thoughts about Battleborn’s possible free trial in the comments below.