Borderlands Online Cancelled, 2K China Shut Down

[Steven Bogos]

Borderlands Online Cancelled, 2K China Shut Down

Take-two has shuttered another international 2K studio, cancelling the in-development Borderlands Online.

Earlier in the year, we heard that Counter-Strike Online [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140481-Borderlands-Developer-2K-Australia-Closing].

"We are excited about the opportunities to expand our business in Asia, and we remain committed to delivering triple-A offerings for that region. At this time, we can confirm that we are closing 2K China," A Take-Two spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-11-06-take-two-interactive-closes-2k-china].

"We determined that the additional time required to finish current projects at the studio, particularly Borderlands Online, would not yield a favorable return on investment."

"We are working with affected staff to identify other opportunities within the company where possible," the statement continued.

Ultimately, this probably doesn't mean too much for those of us in the Western world, as we probably never would have seen Borderlands Online anyway, but it is sad that Take-two is closing down its international studios, and may indicate that things aren't going so well for them.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-11-06-take-two-interactive-closes-2k-china]

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[Something Amyss]

Okay, the article answers why I'd never heard of this.

Are these common?

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Okay, the article answers why I'd never heard of this.

Are these common?

You mean region specific "GameX Online" games?

As a South East Asian i have never heard of Counter Strike Online, but I do know China has Call of Duty Online. It has the normal Call of Duty gameplay, except maps are from all the games so far and zombies mode has techno cyborg zombie things instead of regular zombies.

 

[flying_whimsy]

Huh. I kind of want to be snarky about how prevalent software piracy is in china and relate that to this, but honestly I just don't quite see what 2k was aiming for in the first place. Was Bordlerlands even popular in that part of the world? I hope it was just some flubbed investment on their part as opposed to a sign of trouble to come.

Also, saying that they totally care about delivering AAA games to that region and then closing their only studio and cancelling all projects related to that area kind of seem contradictory.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Wait...what game?
Why would they slate a major franchise, online no less, for only China?
Not even Korea?!

 

[Remus]

Wait...what game?
Why would they slate a major franchise, online no less, for only China?
Not even Korea?!

Because it wasn't a major part of the official franchise. I figured that much was evident. China was doing what China always does - take an idea then recycle it and churn out a product as quickly and as cheaply as possible. For a game that's essentially a console MMO even in its original iteration, it is likely the company vastly underestimated the resources necessary to even create a simulacrum of the original.

 

[vallorn]

Props for the disclosure there, nice work on that.

As to the article, I'm not really surprised, with the current economic problems in china surrounding its investment's market I was honestly expecting more china based subsidiaries and companies going tits up by now.

 

[EndlessSporadic]

And nothing of value was lost. I wish the employees who were laid off the best of luck finding new employment as quickly as possible.

 

[9tailedflame]

It sucks seeing all these 2K studios shut down, i rather like the stuff they're involved in.

 

[CellShaded]

Borderlands Online did look pretty terrible, so I'm glad that'll never see the light of day. Still, sucks that all these people lost their jobs. Wish them the best of luck in the future.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Okay, the article answers why I'd never heard of this.

Are these common?

Sorta. There's also a Company of Heroes spin-off released for the Chinese market only. Basically, the problem is that Chinese censorship laws means it is hard to market multiplayer games in China if there's a chance that a Chinese citizen might end up playing against someone from outside of China. That's why WoW has specific servers for China, for example. The idea behind not just re-releasing the same games but for China is probably that if you are going through all the hops, why not tailor the experience to what the Chinese actually like.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Oh man, seeing that image did make wanted to played it but seeing how it was only for China, I kinda glad it got cancelled.

Even then while I would played that game so badly but at the same time I didn't think it will work, I mean look at Destiny eventhought Borderlands got the edge for the humours.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

I love it when a PR person gives the usual corporate spiel of "we remain committed to [something]," while simultaneously closing the departments that could help with what they claim to be committed to. It is a good reminder that I didn't wake up in a bizarro universe this morning.

Kinda sad they just closed down the studio. They could have had it making smert phone or Chinese government certified PS4/Xbox titles.

 

[Kahani]

China was doing what China always does - take an idea then recycle it and churn out a product as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

Although I guess not cheaply enough in this case.

The idea behind not just re-releasing the same games but for China is probably that if you are going through all the hops, why not tailor the experience to what the Chinese actually like.

Although that does raise the question of how they know what they like if they don't actually get the chance to play the same games as the rest of us.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

"We are excited about the opportunities to expand our business in Asia

...we can confirm that we are closing 2K China,"

Something doesn't seem right here...but I cannot put my finger on what.

 

[Remus]

"We are excited about the opportunities to expand our business in Asia

...we can confirm that we are closing 2K China,"

Something doesn't seem right here...but I cannot put my finger on what.

*elsewhere in Asia at an undisclosed location* We are happy to be branching out the 2k brand to our new studio 2k(insert obscure country here)

 

[Czann]

"We are excited to X and committed to Y, but now we will do Z, an action that directly contradicts my two first statements. I work in PR and I have no idea why I'm paid to do this work as any trained chimp would do the same for peanuts."

 

[Callate]

It seems like Take Two has a bit of a split personality these days. There's the part that makes Grand Theft Auto V, Civilization, XCom, and Red Dead Redemption. And then there's the part that Randy Pitchford is involved with.

Okay, maybe that's a little unfair; I've enjoyed a lot of Borderlands. But that reek coming off of Gearbox these days isn't exactly the sweet smell of success.

 

[Vincent Bernardo]

Free-to-play games survive on micro transactions. China is more open to micro-transactions. Math seems correct...

If I remember correctly, even Blizzard released base-game Diablo as F2P there with more cosmetic options and stash space for sale.