Gearbox Software first announced that development had officially begun on the next Borderlands at PAX South 2015, so it seems fitting that Borderlands 3 may be unveiled at PAX East this week.
Studio CEO Randy Pitchford has been coyly teasing—or trolling—a Borderlands 3 announcement for some time now by constantly referencing the number three in his tweets. This could of course just be a way to poke fun at the community speculation, but with Take-Two's previous earnings calls indicating that a big title is on the horizon in a popular franchise, it seems to be Borderlands 3's time. (Sorry, BioShock)
I only got three hours of sleep last night and then I had to visit three different cities in three different states today.I only got three hours of sleep last night and then I had to visit three different cities in three different states today.— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) March 26, 2019March 26, 2019
The official Gearbox Twitter account has been teasing new game announcements at PAX East for the past week, with the first one showcasing a billboard and the date March 28 in the series' signature artstyle. Gearbox will be hosting a show at PAX East's main theater on March 28 at 2PM ET. In the studio's latest and most overt tease yet, a teaser video was posted to YouTube simply titled "Mask of Mayhem." Let us all pray this isn't some elaborate battle royale teaser.
Another game tease was less subtle, and this time showed a heavily pixelated image of a Borderlands 2 screenshot. Various ratings boards have seemingly outed an original Borderlands remaster for current-gen consoles, so the blurred image could be hinting at that. The first Borderlands is unfortunately the only main entry of the series that has not received the remastered treatment yet, being absent from Borderlands: The Handsome Collection.
However, because the image displayed is from Borderlands 2 and not the first game, it's also within reason that the announcement only pertains to the second title. Whether this means it's coming to Nintendo Switch or getting new content—or something else entirely—is unknown.
The only good "look" we have at Borderlands 3 right now is from GDC 2017, and I use the term "look" extremely loosely as what was showcased was merely a tech demo of how the studio was utilizing Unreal Engine 4 in its upcoming projects, specifically in regards to rendering objects in Borderlands' artstyle.
And if Borderlands 3 isn't announced at PAX East? That's when we all have a good cry and wait not-so-patiently for E3 2019. It's been seven years since Borderlands 2 came out and Battleborn was largely seen as a flop in the eyes of consumers. We're due a great game from the studio.
Say hello to the world of Pandora
If you're new to the Borderlands series or haven't picked them up for PS4, you owe it to yourselves to pick up The Handsome Collection. Compiling remastered editions of Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel, you'll have more than enough content to tide you over until Borderlands 3 releases.
