How Gearbox Software, Creators of Borderlands, Use TeamCity To Streamline Their CI/CD Process

Olga Bedrina

Gearbox Software is a renowned video game development company at the forefront of creating immersive and groundbreaking gaming experiences. With a focus on delivering AAA titles like the Borderlands franchise, Gearbox Software relies on cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions to push the boundaries of game development.

In this case study, we delve into how Gearbox Software leverages TeamCity to optimize its development process and achieve remarkable results.

Streamlining development with TeamCity

Gearbox Software found a powerful ally in TeamCity. By integrating TeamCity into their development pipeline, they were able to automate their build, test, and deployment processes effectively.

TeamCity’s flexible and intuitive interface allowed Gearbox Software’s developers to set up build configurations effortlessly and manage their projects efficiently.

One of the competitors had a very unfriendly UI. The feeling that people should have when they come into a CI/CD system is that it is very sturdy, it won’t break when I try to do anything in it. I think TeamCity has a very well-polished UI. You have confidence that it is a well-working system when you navigate it.
– Steve Fortier, Lead Release Engineer

Knowledge sharing made easy

Gearbox Software faced the challenge of setting up new projects from scratch, leading to a divergence between projects and the need for subject matter experts for each project. This hindered knowledge sharing, caused bottlenecks, and increased the risk of errors.

However, TeamCity helped solve this issue by providing a streamlined setup process, reducing divergence, promoting knowledge sharing, and improving overall development efficiency.

Increased productivity

After implementing TeamCity as their CI/CD solution, Gearbox Software experienced significant improvements in its development process. With the ability to create templates, the team was able to share resources across projects, leading to greater familiarity and increased productivity.

This streamlined approach allowed the team to focus on effective development practices, resulting in enhanced overall efficiency.

Significant savings in terms of EC2 instances

By transitioning to TeamCity, Gearbox Software resolved a bottleneck in their previous CI solution where each build had to compile the editor, consuming valuable time of up to an hour.

With TeamCity, the team separated the editor build into a standalone process that is reused across all builds. This optimization resulted in notable savings in EC2 instances as redundant compilation of the same code was eliminated, enhancing efficiency and reducing resource consumption.

Configuration as code at Gearbox Software

When Gearbox Software started using Kotlin for project configuration, the team was very excited. Even those with little experience with Kotlin were able to figure it out and start using the programming language quickly enough. “There’s a learning curve, but generally, the vibe was positive,” said Steve Fortier.

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