Rating boards don’t lie
Gearbox Software has been doggedly teasing its PAX East panel that’s scheduled for next week. It’s so persistent and there are so many theoretical reveals that it’s tough to keep track of what seems actually likely and what’s mere wishful thinking. Well,except forBorderlands 3. They might burn down Boston ifBorderlands 3isn’t properly announced.
However, it appears as though Gearbox will be revisiting the series’ roots for the 10-year anniversary. International ratings boards have pointed to aBorderlandsremaster for a while now, the most recent coming whenTaiwan rated the gamein January. Now, theESRB has an entryforBorderlandsGame of the Year on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
It seems as if the decade-later remaster ofBorderlandswill have something the original didn’t have: Microtransactions. The ESRB listing mentions “in-game purchases” as an additional content feature. For comparison’s sake,Borderlands(2009) didn’t have this descriptor.Same forBorderlands 2. Neither doesSekiro: Shadows Die Twicewhich launched today with no microtransactions. But,Devil May Cry 5has microtransactions and also has the phrasing “in-game purchases” onits ESRB page.
The evidence is mounting up, pointing to both aBorderlandsremaster and some microtransactions. It’s probably a safe bet that this remaster will add some new content — but, it’ll be the kind of content that Gearbox can sell you a buck or two at a time.
