It's here! Years of not-so-patient waiting have led to this moment, and it was certainly worth it. Gearbox has officially unveiled Borderlands 3 at PAX East 2019 with its first trailer that looks like everything we've wanted and so much more. From new Vault Hunters to new enemies, here's what we know so far about Borderlands 3.

Welcome back

Borderlands 3

Prepare for the fight of the galaxy

Borderlands 3 looks to be releasing sooner than a lot of us expected. Pick your new favorite Vault Hunter and get ready to save the worlds. No pressure or anything. Oh, and watch out for the wildlife.

What's new with Borderlands 3?

As Gearbox releases more details regarding the upcoming shooter looter, we'll continually update this to keep you informed on all things Borderlands 3 leading up to its launch. So check back often if you want to stay up to date.

June 10, 2019 — New trailer shown at E3

Gearbox revealed a new trailer for Borderlands 3 that hints at some interesting aspects in the upcoming game. With Lilith introducing herself, she states that she's a former Siren. We don't know what happened, but this may be a large plot thread in Borderlands 3. And of course the trailer also gave us new gameplay footage of our four new Vault Hunters.

A 10-minute extended gameplay demo was also showcased at E3 giving us a better look at the playable character Moze and her abilities. It's unclear where in the story this gameplay section takes place at, but the enemies are around level 25 through 27 and it appears to be a new area we've never seen before.

May 6, 2019 — Gearbox showcases gameplay demo

Gearbox and 2K invited us to the Borderlands 3 gameplay event in Los Angeles where we went hands-on with the game and interviewed a couple of its developers. In our preview we discuss some of the changes being made to keep the game fresh yet familiar to longtime series fans.

During this event we got a good look at the new loot system, which is now instanced and levels to the player, two of the Vault Hunters, Sanctuary III, new weapons, and the world of Promethea.

April 3, 2019 — Release date revealed alongside pre-orders

Borderlands 3 is releasing a lot sooner than anyone may have expected. You can pre-order the game starting today to prepare for its September 13, 2019 launch. Gearbox also confirmed the names our our new four Vault Hunters: Moze, Amara, Zane, and FL4K.

In the announcement, it was also revealed that players will now have the option to have their own loot streams, meaning you don't need to share the goods with your friends. Of course, the option to use the classic shared-loot method is available to you.

It was also confirmed that we will be visiting multiple planets other than Pandora, though none were specifically named. Let's cross our fingers for Promethea.

Borderlands 3 The story so far

If you're already familiar with the series and don't need a primer on the events that have led up to Borderlands 3, you can go ahead and skip "The story so far" section. For new fans, you may want to read through to get yourselves caught up on the action.

So what the hell has been going on before Borderlands 3 takes place? Buckle up, because it's a long ride—which I'll condense to save your sanity.

Borderlands

Borderlands is a role-playing shooter (RPS) that released in 2009. On the fictional planet of Pandora, what appears in some spots to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland, four characters known as Vault Hunters journey to loot the riches of a rumored ancient alien vault and happen to get caught up in a corporate takeover of the planet along the way. Through the use of previously-uncovered Eridian technology—the alien tech sealed within vaults across the universe—the Atlas Corporation attempted to stop the Vault Hunters from finding the vault in order to take its contents for themselves. Atlas loses, of course, and it turns out that the vault actually housed a giant monster that was sealed inside for centuries to prevent the destruction of the universe.

Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 picks up several years after Borderlands ends, and stars a new set of Vault Hunters. While out on a job they are betrayed by a man called Handsome Jack, the leader of the Hyperion Corporation. A woman known as the Guardian Angel then appears and tells them to find the city of Sanctuary and join its local resistance group that opposes Hyperion. With the help of the four original Vault Hunters from the first game who make appearances as NPCs, we come to discover that Handsome Jack intends to open a new vault and unleash The Warrior, a powerful monster who he will then be able to command to do his bidding. As is usually the case, our heroes end up defeating Handsome Jack, but not before The Warrior is released and taken care of.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Much of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, a spin-off title that released after both games, takes place chronologically in between the two main entries, hence the name, but the beginning and end give us a taste of what went on after Borderlands 2. It begins with the former assassin Athena recounting the events of Handsome Jack's (simply known as Jack at the time) rise to power on Pandora's moon Elpis. You can think of this as a bit of an origin story for Handsome Jack, even if he originally wasn't a playable character. What's interesting is that after Athena finishes recounting her story, an Eridian alien appears at Sanctuary and warns everyone of an imminent war in which they will need "all the Vault Hunters they can get."

Tales from the Borderlands

Telltale also got their hands on the series at one point and released a 5-episode narrative adventure called Tales from the Borderlands. Taking place after Borderlands 2, this series follows a Hyperion employee and a con artist who get caught up in a struggle on Pandora to find another vault. This time, however, instead of a monster awaiting them at the end of their journey, a simple glowing chest—no doubt Eridian in nature—greeted them upon entry, and once they opened it, they vanished. Their whereabouts and what happened after are currently unknown.

Borderlands 3 Playable characters

The four Vault Hunters in Borderlands 3 are known as Moze: The Gunner; Amara: The Siren; Zane: The Operative; and FL4K: The Beastmaster.

As you can probably guess from their names, Moze is a soldier that can control a giant mech to deal extra gun damage, Amara summons her Siren powers to smash enemies with ethereal fists, FL4K has some trusty Borderlands pets he can use on the battlefield à la Mordecai, and Zane causes chaos with a digi-clone and other gadgets.

During its gameplay demo it was revealed that each Vault Hunter now has three action skills to choose from. Zane, in particular, can use two of these skills at once in lieu of your grenades.

Borderlands 3 Who else is in it?

It looks like nearly everyone. No, really. Both the trailer and studio CEO Randy Pitchford made it clear that a ton of characters would be returning from previous games—from the original Vault Hunters to NPCs—and even Rhys and Vaughn from Tales from the Borderlands will be in it. Except for Handsome Jack. He's dead. Like Dead with a capital "D." His AI that's fused with Rhys, however.... that may be another story. One notable absence from from the NPC cast is Gaige. It was confirmed she will not be returning during E3 2019.

As for new characters, the bad guys this time around are a pair called the Calypso Twins. Don't underestimate them though, as they have a whole cult of fanatical followers at their beck and call.

Borderlands 3 Loot, gear, and one billion guns

It wouldn't be a Borderlands game without a ton of guns, and this one appears to have over one billion. Though that number may seem like an over-exaggeration, there's a good reason to believe it's possible. Borderlands 2 contained nearly 18 million guns alone when accounting for stat variations. It's within reason that Gearbox has been able to drastically increase that number over the years with improvements in technology and the power of current-gen consoles.

There's even a gun with legs! Seriously, a gun with robotic legs is seen running and shooting. In its release date announcement, the company also noted that "Atlas now offers guns that fire tracker tags and Smart Bullets; DAHL weapons feature alternate fire modes; and the Maliwan range now incorporates firearms that can toggle between two elements and deal guaranteed elemental damage."

You want rifles that spawn fire-spewing volcanoes? Why the hell not. Certain guns will now allow you to toggle their firing modes, changing up what kind of bullets and projectiles will launch out, or even switch the elemental effect of the weapon. The game will not, however, feature modular gun customization. You won't be able to find your own magazines and scopes to attach to your weapons, though you will be able to upgrade your weapon's capabilities through your skill trees.

Borderlands 3 Where does it take place?

Players will get to visit their favorite dusty planet of Pandora, but they won't be limited to it this time. That's right. We'll be exploring other worlds! Gearbox stated that there will be a handful of other planets too, but as of right now we only know of three, aside from Pandora:

  • Promethea
  • Eden-6
  • Athenas

And to visit all of these? Sanctuary III has been turned into a spaceship that allows for fast travel across the universe.

Borderlands 3 Timeline

Borderlands 3 takes place in real time since Borderlands 2 came out, so it's been roughly 7 years in-game since the ending of its predecessor. Rhys is now head of the Atlas Corporation and Tina Tiny looks to be all grown up.

Borderlands 3 Xbox One X enhancements

Gearbox is looking to offer favor fidelity or favor performance options on Xbox One X, but they were not able to commit to anything at this time. Producer Chris Brock did state that the base Xbox One would run at 30FPS, and they were hoping to hit 60FPS on Xbox One X. As for resolution, Xbox One X will support 4K.

Borderlands 3 PC specs

There is no information on PC specs as of writing, but we'll add them in as soon as they're available.

Borderlands 3 Supported platforms

Borderlands 3 is set to release on September 13, 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Its PC storefront is expected to be the Epic Games Store. You can pre-order it today starting at $60 for the Standard Edition (below), $80 for the Deluxe Edition, and $100 for the Super Deluxe Edition.

And if that's not enough for you? Well Gearbox is also offering a Diamond Loot Chest Collector's Edition for a whopping $250.

Welcome back

Borderlands 3

Prepare for the fight of the galaxy

Borderlands 3 looks to be releasing sooner than a lot of us expected. Pick your new favorite Vault Hunter and get ready to save the worlds. No pressure or anything. Oh, and watch out for the wildlife.

Updated June 2019: We've added its most recent trailer from E3 2019.

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