While Gearbox president Randy Pitchford isn't so sure the release of Overwatch directly impacted the sales of Battleborn, he's confident the comparison made between the two hero shooters is why Battleborn isn't always perceived as as success.
"Let's imagine Overwatch didn't exist at all; I don't know that anything would have been different. Maybe Battleborn would have had the same exact audience it had, it just wouldn't have been compared," Pitchford said on the latest episode of our monthly interview show IGN Unfiltered.
"They're actually different things," Pitchford said of Overwatch and Battleborn, suggesting Gearbox's hero shooter "might have had the same results" even if Overwatch wasn't released around the same time last year. "I'm telling you this, if Overwatch did not exist and it had exactly the same results, a lot of people would have seen, 'Oh, that was a winner, that's a new IP and it's successful, and holy crap where did this come from?' It would have been seen in a totally different light, even if it sold not a single unit more than it did," he explained.
Pitchford went on highlight the fact that "we celebrate when new, strange IPs break a million units," recalling the excitement and praise Firewatch received when its sales reached one million. However, that wasn't the case for Battleborn, sales for which were initially "tracking just ahead" of Borderlands shortly after launch. "We reached three to four million people and it's like, 'oh you guys f—ked up so bad. Such a failure. And it's only because of the [Overwatch] comparison, I think," Pitchford said.
Gearbox Software's hero shooter was released in May of last year. A little over a year after its launch, a free-to-play version, featuring unlimited access to all of Battleborn's competitive multiplayer modes, was made available. For our thoughts on the game, which is getting Borderlands-themed character skins later this year, read IGN's Battleborn review.
Be sure to check out part two of our IGN Unfiltered interview with Pitchford for even more from the Gearbox president, including his thoughts on the studio's commitment to both single-player and co-op, why the wait for Borderlands 3 has been so long, and more. If you haven't already done so, also be sure to watch part one of our interview, which covers everything from Pitchford's experience working on Half-Life and Halo to his thoughts on Duke Nukem Forever.
Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @alexcosborn.
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