We are surprised it was still up and running considering Gearbox stopped all updates on the game two years ago.

2K official took to Twitter to let fans of Battleborn know that servers for the online action game will be taken offline in January of 2021. That’s a pretty long window for those that still have/play the game.

It’s a fair deal considering Battleborn has been delisted from online stores. That said, you can easily find a retail copy in the clearance section of your favorite retailer. I scored a sealed copy from Target for $3.50 sometime last year.

This little MOBA/FPS hybrid tried its best but was quickly overshadowed by the launch of Overwatch only weeks after it hit stores. The worst thing about this is that once it’s gone, it’s gone. Battleborn will yet be another game of this online generation that will disappear and never be played by future generations.

“Once the servers are offline in January 2021, Battleborn won’t be playable in any way,” said 2K, dashing the hopes of video game preservationists everywhere. We are just beginning to see the deaths of games that we will never be able to come back to or share with our kids.

Battleborn may not have been the best game ever but it’s clear that it had a small and dedicated community of fans. To know that they, or anyone, will have nothing but a drink coaster on their shelves is disappointing.

Game preservation is a real issue and one that will only continue to grow as we continue to move into digital only games that are tied to online services. Something like the Stadia console might be the future, but it’s a future I’m not looking forward to.

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J. Luis

J. Luis is the current Editor-In-Chief here at GAMbIT. With a background in investigative journalism his work encompasses the pop-culture spectrum here, but he also works in the political spectrum for other organizations.

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