Gearbox has now taken to Twitter to officially tease what is more than likely Borderlands 3. After a tech demo at GDC hinted at the game being in development, it now appears as though we are just a couple weeks away from the debut reveal. Head below for everything we know so far.
Borderlands originally released in 2009 with its sequel following a few years later in September of 2012. The series has always been thought of as a groundbreaking experience having been one of the first AAA titles to successfully blend the first person shooter genre with RPG elements. Its approach to loot collection and unique weapon generation created a gameplay loop that has in many ways spawned a new sub-genre of games.
Borderlands 2 has sold more than 13 million copies and is one of 2K’s highest-selling titles of all-time. It was followed up by The Pre-Sequel in 2014, which took place in between the events of 1 and 2. But if today’s teaser is any indication, it won’t be long before we hear more about Borderlands 3.
Borderlands 3 is on the Way:
Gearbox tweeted the image above this morning. The obvious graphical style and somewhat obfuscated number 3 in the top right corner are certainly suggesting Borderlands 3 is on the way. The date and reference to Boston, Massachusetts is likely pointing at an official reveal at PAX East in just two weeks time.
What We Know So Far:
Basically nothing is known about what to expect from Borderlands 3 at this point. But at a previous GDC presentation on Unreal Engine 4, we got a brief glimpse at what could be in the game courtesy of Gearbox CEO Rndy Pitchford. While the presentation was solely meant to demonstrate Unreal Engine 4, it was using Borderlands-like assets. Pitchford said it didn’t actually represent the upcoming game at the time, but it did include art assets from “a future video game.” A production asset character model was also shown with the facial features obscured. So either the team didn’t get to finish animating it or Gearbox had something to hide.
The presentation did, however, show-off a much higher-res version of the classic cell shaded-like visual style of Borderlands. That, in combination with the visuals in today’s teaser are likely pointing at Gearbox taking that direction once again. And why wouldn’t they at this point?
Is it Coming to Switch?
Later that year, Pitchford also noted that he wanted to have Borderlands 3 on Nintendo Switch. But it doesn’t look like it is going to happen so far. The CEO cited Nintendo’s interest in other priorities as the reason talks stopped between the two companies.
9to5Toys’ Take:
Previous reports suggest Borderlands 3 has been in development since 2015, but it will more than likely only be a couple weeks before we lay eyes on it. Considering the last numbered sequel released nearly 6 years ago, it is about time. That seems like an understandable amount of time for such a successful franchise to go dark. But something has felt like it was missing from the overall gaming landscape over the last few years to me, and that something is probably more Borderlands.
As always, stay locked to 9to5Toys for all things gaming. You’ll also want to make sure you keep an eye on our Games/Apps Guide for early pre-order deals on Borderlands 3.
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