Battleborn launches open beta, but its price may prevent it from ever taking off

Enter Battleborn, the newest team-based competitive action game. Developers are proud to announce that the Battleborn Open Beta will run from April 8-18.

With 25 different heroes, two full Story Mode episodes, and a unique multiplayer progression system available on purchase, Battleborn looks to enter the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) scene with a bang. However, at $60, its steep entry price may prevent it from ever taking off — especially in a genre that’s already dominated by a single game.

Currently, League of Legends is one of the fastest growing games in the world, and this year, it’s set to dominate 66% of the MOBA market. Dota 2 follows behind in second place, and is expected to hold only about 16% of market share. Blizzard’s own, Heroes of the Storm, comes in third, and SMITE, places last.

These are the top four games of the MOBA genre. Although they each appeal to their own player-base in different ways, ultimately, they all have one thing in common — they’re free.

Developers behind Battleborn can give us all the unique content they want, but at its current price, the game will flop. Nobody wants to spend that much money on a game when there are other free alternatives, especially ones that have an already established community.

I really hope the game does well. The combat looks interesting and the development team is showing us some unique mechanics that I’ve never seen in another MOBA title. However, I feel that at its current price, the game is effectively killing off its player-base before it has even launched.