Gearbox's Randy Pitchford Denies Battleborn Free-To-Play Rumors
The rumor that Battleborn would be going free-to-play sometime in the next few months appeared to be becoming more of a reality when Kotaku posted an article yesterday stating that an anonymous source had told them that the game would be doing exactly that. Furthermore, the source alleged that the game was always meant to be free-to-play and that it was under publisher 2K's advisement that the game was sold as a $60 retail product.
According to the source, the new free-to-play version of the game would feature some number of free multiplayer modes, but players would be required to pay for the game's story missions and DLC. There would be a selection of free heroes, while the rest would be paid. It is possible that there might even be a free rotation of heroes, much like League of Legends and SMITE.
Shortly after the article went live, Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford took to Twitter to deny the rumor in the following tweet.
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
He did, however, state that, amidst falling concurrent player numbers, there were plans to make "a 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
Many have responded to the tweet stating that it could be argued that there is very little difference between the proposed "trial version" and certain free-to-play games. Kotaku seems to agree, as it has since updated its article with the statement that "it seems like maybe we're just arguing over semantics."
Do you think that the proposed "trial version" could be considered a free-to-play version of the game?
