'Battleborn' creates shooter hybrid from lucrative template

'Borderlands' studio Gearbox is turning its focus towards the 'League of Legends' and 'Dota 2' genre with 2015 team-based shooter 'Battleborn.'

Where 'League of Legends' and 'Dota 2' pit two teams against each other in highly competitive matches -- supported by million dollar international tournaments -- 'Battleborn' can leverage Gearbox's experience in creating visually arresting worlds that keep players engaged through a combination of the new and the familiar.

Spokespersons from Gearbox and publisher 2K are already hyping 'Battleborn' to the heavens, while staying light on details about the co-op and competitive multiplayer game.

'Battleborn is the most ambitious video game that Gearbox has ever created,' said effusive and excitable studio president Randy Pitchford. For 2K Games president Christoph Hartmann, the 'size, scope, and ambition of Battleborn are unlike any other title in 2K's history,' leading him to call it 'a defining next-gen co-operative experience.'

Indeed, elements of 'Battleborn' are not so far from 'Borderlands 2'; the eye-catching visuals, the team-based combat staged over sprawling environments, the potential for additional purchases through alternative character cosmetics and in-game expansions.

Whether 'Battleborn' will leave room for an eventual free-to-play transition, given the status of 'Dota 2' and 'League of Legends' as supremely lucrative free-to-play titles, remains to be seen; for now, its debut press release encourages readers to make pre-orders via the associated website when the time comes.

Shooting for a 2015 release (though given until the end of the fiscal year, March 31 2016, in the publisher press release), 'Battleborn' is also the subject of a publicity deal with Game Informer magazine.

The publication, available in digital and print, is owned by the company behind retail chain GameStop, as is to have 'Battleborn' information drip-fed via the GI website (www.gameinformer.com/battleborn) pending a blow-out come the August edition.