You see, Battleborn, a game you may not know exists, was once thought to be a top contender against the Overwatch hype. Being released only 21 days apart and with Battleborn having the headstart, Overwatch has catapulted into the stratosphere of popularity where it is sure to rest as one of the most powerful IPs in gaming history. Unfortunately, Battleborn is nowhere near that stardom.
But why?
Steam Account: Ehhh, Battleborn has No Mascot
Tracer is, undoubtedly, the most popular female character in 2016 as of today. And, with her popularity, has infinitely helped set up Overwatch as one of the best multiplayer games ever. Never mind whatever qualms you have with the game, whether they be lack of content or lack of a single player focus; Overwatch simply is just a fantastic game. But what does Tracer being an incredibly popular character have to do with Overwatch’s stellar gameplay?
To be honest? Nothing. Well, nothing directly. But it’s something Battleborn should have done.
Despite Battleborn having the story component within the game and a super interesting universe, it doesn’t exactly have the star power of any of Overwatch’s heroes that were introduced via Tracer. This is because Battleborn did not put out a mascot that the public would like. Gearbox doesn’t have any hero as generally appealing as Tracer who is cool, cute, sexy, and pretty much anything else you want her to be. Heroes in Battleborn are too stringent and appeal to specific niche interests in the character development department unlike Tracer and, apparently, the rest of the Overwatch cast.
For a hero-based game, they certainly did not take into consideration how folks needed to see their heroes as what they were and not what they could turn out to be in their stories. This is, I believe, the biggest weakness of Battleborn and why it was overtaken by the hype and power of Overwatch despite the backing of Steam account powers. Gearbox can still turn this around, not just through balancing and fixing their matchmaking, but embarking on a campaign to increase the popularity of their heroes beforehand. Just imagine; even before Overwatch was out of beta, there were more porn searches about the game than any other IP in the history of the internet. I’m just going to leave it at that.