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Battleborn has a story mode you can play single-player or five-player co-op

There's split-screen, too.

Surprise! Gearbox's team-based multiplayer first-person shooter Battleborn has a story mode you can play on your own as well as co-op.

Gearbox, the makers of Borderlands, said Battleborn's story mode is a "narrative experience" that can be played single-player or cooperatively by up to five friends via splitscreen or online.

The story mode is modular, which means you can choose which missions you play next. You can replay missions to earn better loot, Gearbox said.

Elsewhere, Gearbox confirmed Battleborn includes 25 heroes and three competitive multiplayer modes. Many of the heroes are in the new trailer, below.

Battleborn has an accelerated character growth system, called the Helix System, which lets players level up from 1 to 10 in a single story mission or competitive multiplayer match. There's a persistent progression system, too.

Competitive multiplayer is for up to 10 players online in 5v5 matches. The modes are mostly built around familiar mechanics. Incursion is the most MOBA-style mode. Teams defend their base from waves of computer-controller enemies while working alongside their own minions to destroy their opponents' base. Devastation is a deathmatch with capture and hold objectives. And Meltdown charges teams with protecting their minions as they march to their death at the center of the map. You get points for minions who throw themselves into the incinerator.

Battleborn is due out on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this winter. Coincidentally, that's about when we expect Blizzard's team-based competitive multiplayer shooter Overwatch to launch proper, too. Let the race to release begin!

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