Battleborn Free Trial Launches Today, Offers 'Unlimited Competitive Multiplayer'

You'll get a weekly rotation of six heroes from the roster of 30. Don't call it 'free to play,' though.

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Gearbox Software has announced Battleborn Free Trial, a free download available now that offers unlimited competitive multiplayer for the 2016 hero-based shooter.

Free Trial, free-to-play... Right? No. Yes. Kind of?

Battleborn Free Trial gives you access to all of the game's modes and maps without level caps or time limits. Each week Gearbox will offer a rotation of six heroes out of the 30 available. Progression with heroes and your player account will be permanent, meaning that even though you'll lose access to a hero when they fall off the rotation, you'll be able to pick up where you left off the next time they come around.

Xbox One and PS4 players will need an Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus account to partake in Battleborn Free Trial.

All of this may sound like Battleborn is now free-to-play. That's because it is. Sort of. The rumor of Battleborn shedding its price tag started last fall when Kotaku published a report to that effect. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford debated the semantics of 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," Pitchford said. "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."

Technically, Pitchford is correct. Gearbox isn't converting Battleborn to a F2P game; it's positioning the franchise as two products: Battleborn, and Battleborn Free Trial. Paying for the former gets you access to all 30 heroes. Or, you can stick with Battleborn Free Trial and experiment with each week's six free heroes to determine which one(s) you like best.

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

From The Chatty
    • reply
      June 6, 2017 8:41 AM

      attn TraptNSuit

      seems long overdue

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        June 6, 2017 8:43 AM

        That's putting it lightly.

        I do recommend everyone give this a try though. It is a genuinely enjoyable game.

        I hope I can finally find some full games again.

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          June 6, 2017 9:12 AM

          I'm planning on trying it out. There is a coop / SP mode right? I probably won't get invested into anything competitive right now.

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            June 6, 2017 9:22 AM

            Well, the only part you get in the free trial is the competitive mp. You can play against bots I think in the free trial, but if you want the SP/Co-op you still have to pay for it.

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              June 6, 2017 9:29 AM

              sadtrombones.ogg

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                June 6, 2017 9:31 AM

                Yeah. I think the main thing with the free trial is finding out if you like the art, the feel of the game, and the style of play.

                If you like that and Borderlands style co-op interests you, then the price for sp/co-op is going to be worth it for you.

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                June 6, 2017 9:58 AM

                It's $10...

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                  June 6, 2017 10:06 AM

                  I thought it was 30 to get the full package

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                    June 6, 2017 11:10 AM

                    It's $10 on PS4, I dont know about PC.

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      June 6, 2017 11:08 AM

      Randy Pitchford's meltdown with a journalist over this is a ton of fun to read. Guy has some serious issues and shouldn't be in a public facing role at all... ever.

    • reply
      June 6, 2017 12:56 PM

      Games super fun. Just that timing against overwatch was the games death.

      • reply
        June 6, 2017 2:40 PM

        [deleted]

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          June 6, 2017 3:55 PM

          It has problems tho. When it first came out there were big issues on moving farther in levels requiring all the players to stand in one spot. If someone didn't want to, or if they dropped. the whole run was fucked for everyone else.

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      June 6, 2017 1:58 PM

      If I were you Dave, I'd have that "Battleborn Shutters Doors after 1 Month" loaded into the chamber.

    • reply
      June 6, 2017 3:14 PM

      [deleted]

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      June 6, 2017 6:28 PM

      Can someone recommend a YouTube video series that can explain what the heck I should be doing in the game? I put about 10 hours into the co-op stuff but that was really useless experience once I dipped my toe into the moba side of things.

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