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Gearbox Acknowledges Xbox One/PS4/PC Game Battleborn Faces An Uphill Battle

"Everyone said the same thing about both Brothers in Arms and Borderlands," Gearbox president Randy Pitchford says.

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Battleborn, the just-announced first-person multiplayer arena game from Borderlands creator Gearbox Software, faces an uphill battle with consumers, president Randy Pitchford has acknowledged. Responding to a fan on Twitter, Pitchford said he's undaunted by this challenge, in part because people said the same thing about two other major Gearbox franchises.

"Always the case when you pave new ground," Pitchford said to a fan who said Gearbox faces an uphill battle with consumers for Battleborn. "Everyone said the same thing about both Brothers in Arms and Borderlands."

Battleborn is decidedly different than Gearbox's past body of work, which most recently included Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013) and Borderlands 2 (2012). It's a highly stylized multiplayer shooter that people immediately likened to a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Game (MOBA). But it's not really a MOBA, Pitchford says.

"MOBAs are fun, but Battleborn isn't really a MOBA," Pitchford said in response to a fan who said they became turned off when seeing the game referred to as a MOBA. Pitchford went on to say that Battleborn will have a "deep narrative campaign" featuring heroes, villains, twists, turns, and progression.

Pitchford also confirmed that the Battleborn announcement trailer released yesterday featured CG graphics and no gameplay. He went on to tease that he is "really excited" to show off gameplay for Battleborn "soon," though he gave no specific timetable.

Battleborn--described as the "most ambitious" game Gearbox has ever made--is currently in development for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. The title will be published by 2K Games and is slated to launch before April 1, 2016.

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