Borderlands (series)
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''Borderlands'' is an
action role-playing An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
first-person looter shooter
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...
franchise set in a space Western
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
setting, created and produced by
Gearbox Software Gearbox Software is an American video game development company based in Frisco, Texas. It was established as a limited liability company in February 1999 by five developers formerly of Rebel Boat Rocker. Randy Pitchford, one of the founders, s ...
and published by
2K Games 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. 2K was founded under Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports labels, following Take-Two Interactive's acquisition of Visual Concepts that same ...
for multiple platforms. The series consists of four games, each with multiple
downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...
packs: '' Borderlands'' (2009), ''
Borderlands 2 ''Borderlands 2'' is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. Taking place five years following the events of '' Borderlands'' (2009), the game is again set on the planet of Pandora. ...
'' (2012), '' Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel'' (2014) by
2K Australia 2K Australia Pty Ltd (formerly Irrational Games Australia Pty. Ltd.) was an Australian video game developer based in Canberra. The company was founded as Irrational Games Australia, a subsidiary of Irrational Games, in April 2000. Irrational G ...
and ''
Borderlands 3 ''Borderlands 3'' is an Action role-playing video game, action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is a sequel to 2012's ''Borderlands 2'', and the fourth entry in the ...
'' (2019). '' Tales from the Borderlands'' (2014–) is a
spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...
episodic graphic adventure game by Telltale Games. The series has received critical acclaim and commercial success for its
loot Loot may refer to: Film *''Loot'' (1919 film), a film by William C. Dowlan * ''Loot'' (1970 film), a British film by Silvio Narizzano * ''Loot'' (2008 film), a documentary * ''Loot'' (2011 film), an Indian film * ''Loot'' (2012 film), a Nepali fi ...
-driven multiplayer
co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
gameplay and its sense of humor. As of November 2022, more than 77 million copies of ''Borderlands'' games had been shipped, with 26 million from ''Borderlands 2''. An additional 5 million copies of ''
Borderlands 3 ''Borderlands 3'' is an Action role-playing video game, action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is a sequel to 2012's ''Borderlands 2'', and the fourth entry in the ...
'' were sold within five days of release, bringing the total series' net revenues to over . This makes it one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. A
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
of the series is in development by
Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
.


Gameplay

The ''Borderlands'' games are first-person loot shooters, set in an open world, with some
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
(RPG) elements (''Tales from the Borderlands,'' however, is an episodic
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based ...
). The concept came from
Randy Pitchford Randy Pitchford is an American businessman. He co-founded the video game development studio Gearbox Software in 1999 and was president and CEO for the company until 2021, upon which he became CEO and president of Gearbox's parent company, The ...
's idea to combine the mechanics of first-person shooters like ''
Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...
'' with role-playing games with randomized loot such as '' Diablo''. After developing the mechanics of this shooter-RPG hybrid, Gearbox established the idea of players seeking Vaults on the planet Pandora, comparing the discovery of new loot to opening a
Pandora's box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing physi ...
. Players select one of the available characters, representing Vault Hunters that have traveled to the planet Pandora to try to seek its fabled Vault. Each Vault Hunter has a different skill tree and one or more unique abilities. Players then work on completing quests and exploring Pandora while dealing with the violent Pandora wildlife, crazed scavengers that have been stranded on the planet, and various military groups that attempt to stop them. Completing quests and defeating foes earns in-game money and experience, which is used for expanding the player's skill tree. If the player loses their health or falls into bottomless chasms, they
respawn In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character, item or NPC. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction, perhaps after losing one of its lives. Despawning is the deletion of an entity from the game ...
at the most recent checkpoint and lose some of their money. The games are divided into several maps, and once players have reached a waypoint station on the map, they can teleport to any other previously visited map. Otherwise, players must reach certain points on the edges of the map to move into a different area. Some maps allow the player to spawn an armed vehicle to help traverse large maps or to deal with more powerful enemies. A core feature of ''Borderlands'' is the loot system, which generates a variety of guns (such as pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers), shield generators, grenade modifications, and class modifications. This equipment is randomly dropped by foes, found in containers around Pandora, or obtained as rewards for completing quests. The statistics of the equipment, such as the amount of damage and accuracy for a gun and special elemental attacks, are
procedurally generated In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated assets and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. In ...
, and use a loot color-coding system similar to games like ''
World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azer ...
'' to indicate rarity, ranging from white (most common), to purple and orange (most rare and powerful). The first ''Borderlands'' is credited by the
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
to have over 17 million different possible guns that could be generated, while the latter games expand further on this. Other facets of the game use a similar procedural system: foes may have unique attributes and more powerful variants, such as creatures that can spit corrosive acid or flame, or scavengers with higher amounts of health and armor. Weapons and other equipment can be sold and bought at various vending machines scattered about the maps; nearly all vending machines include a rare piece of loot that is only available for a limited amount of in-game time, after which the machine's inventory is rotated for a new set of equipment. ''Borderlands 2'', ''3'', and ''The Pre-Sequel!'' include the use of "SHIFT codes", which the player can obtain through social media or other promotions, and give players "golden keys" that can be used once to obtain an item of exceptional quality appropriate for the player's level; this feature was also added to the remaster of ''Borderlands''. As the player levels, the loot drops will become more powerful; at the same time, the enemies that the player faces on the map will increase in level as well. All three games feature a
New Game Plus A New Game Plus, also New Game+ (NG+), is an unlockable video game mode available in some video games that allows the player to start a new game after they finish it at least once, where certain features in NG+ not normally available in a first ...
-type replay mode, where they can start with the same character at the same level they completed the game with, and continue to level up the character through the replay up to a fixed level, making the game more difficult. All three games support co-operative play for up to four people; the difficulty of the enemies as well as the quality of the loot drops scales with the number of players. In ''Borderlands 2'' and in the ''Pre-Sequel'', a "Badass Rank" system was added. By completing certain challenges, such as killing a number of enemies with a specific weapon type, the player would be awarded Badass points; for every 100 points, they can then redeem these for one of several small buffs to the player's attributes such as gun damage or shield capacity. Selecting the same buff repeatedly on redemption while using a given character would provide less beneficial rewards. However, these Badass buffs are shared by all characters that the player has so that if the player starts a new character, they will retain all the existing buffs, and new buffs when the points are redeemed will be more beneficial; the "Badass Rank" system has been replaced in ''Borderlands 3'' by the "guardian" system. All the games in the series use a comic book-like rendering approach, frequently mistaken as a
cel-shaded Cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3-D computer graphics appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a shade gradient or tints and shades. A cel shader is often used to mimic t ...
technique. Instead, the games use fully realized hand-drawn textures and within the game engine, add noticeable outlines to create the appearance of a comic book setting.


Plot


Setting

The games in ''Borderlands'' primarily take place on the planet Pandora. Pandora is believed to be rich with mineral wealth leading several interstellar megacorporations to send colony ships there to capitalize on it, but once they arrive, they find little of value outside of undecipherable alien artifacts from a long-extinct race known as the Eridians, and numerous native lifeforms make it too dangerous to colonize. Many of the corporations abandon the planet, leaving behind their workforce, former prisoners coerced into employment, who take over much of the planet as bandits and raiders. However, a study of the alien artifacts leads to the discovery of mythical Eridian Vaults filled with untold treasure and wealth, which are guarded by extremely powerful and ancient monsters. Corporations and military forces return to the planet, along with a number of Vault Hunters who seek to find the Vaults themselves. The settings are expanded to include the moon of Pandora in ''Borderlands: The Pre-sequel'', and other planets in ''Borderlands 3'' where further Eridian Vaults have been found.


Characters

Several characters appear in multiple ''Borderlands'' games. The small yellow robot Claptrap (voiced by David Eddings, with Jim Foronda in ''Borderlands 3''), the ''de facto'' mascot for the franchise, has appeared in all games as a
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...
(NPC) and in the ''Pre-Sequel'' as a playable character. The megalomaniacal CEO of the Hyperion Corporation, Handsome Jack (
Dameon Clarke Dameon Clarke (born January 16) is a Canadian actor who has done work for anime, films, TV shows and video games. His voice acting roles have been with Funimation, where he voiced Cell in the ''Dragon Ball'' series, Younger Toguro in ''Yu Yu Ha ...
), is first encountered as the principal antagonist of ''Borderlands 2'', while the ''Pre-Sequel'' features him as an NPC whose rise to power is assisted by the player. After his death at the end of ''Borderlands 2'', Jack reappears in ''Tales from the Borderlands'' as an AI personality and in flashbacks in ''Borderlands 3''. The enigmatic "Angel" (voiced by Jennifer Green, portrayed in the video by Brittani Johnson) who guides the players through ''Borderlands'' is, in the sequel, revealed to be Jack's daughter. Also appearing across multiple games are several NPCs who act as vendors and quest-givers for the player. They include the erratic researcher Patricia Tannis (
Colleen Clinkenbeard Colleen Smith Clinkenbeard (born April 13, 1980) is an American voice actress, ADR director, line producer, and writer working for the anime-dubbing company Funimation. One of her major starts was as the English voice provider for Rachel Moor ...
), the garage owner and mechanic Scooter (Michael Neumann), Scooter's younger sister and mechanic Ellie (
Jamie Marchi Jamie Lynn Marchi (; born October 8, 1977) is an American voice actress, ADR director and script writer who works for Funimation, and Sentai Filmworks. She has provided a number of voices for English-language versions of anime and video games. ...
), the bartender Mad Moxxi (
Brina Palencia Brina Michelle Palencia (born February 13, 1984) is an American voice and television actress. She has voiced a number of English-language versions of characters featured in anime. Palencia provided the dubbed voices of Tony Tony Chopper in ' ...
), the 13-year-old demolitions expert Tiny Tina (
Ashly Burch Ashly Burch (born June 19, 1990) is an American voice actress, singer, and television writer. She is known for her roles as Aloy in ''Horizon Zero Dawn'' and ''Horizon Forbidden West'', Mel in ''The Last of Us Part II'', Tiny Tina in the '' Bord ...
), the gun company founder Mr. Torgue (
Chris Rager Chris Rager is an American voice actor who works on anime series at Funimation. His major roles include Mr. Satan in ''Dragon Ball'', Will Powers in ''Ace Attorney (anime)'', and Arlong in the Funimation dub of ''One Piece''. In video games, he ...
), the gentleman hunter Sir Alistair Hammerlock (
J. Michael Tatum J. Michael Tatum is an American voice actor, ADR director and script writer working for Funimation/ OkraTron 5000 And Bang Zoom! Entertainment who provides voices for a number of English versions of Japanese anime series and video games. Biog ...
), the junk dealer Janey Springs (Catherine Moore), the shady surgeon Dr. Zed (Ric Spiegel) and the gun merchant Marcus Kincaid (Bruce DuBose), who also narrates the opening cinematics. In each main game, the player chooses one of several
player characters A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
– "Vault Hunters" drawn to Pandora by the prospect of the alien riches contained within the Vaults – but as the games support up to four-player co-op gameplay, their continuity presents these characters as having witnessed the events of each game together. Several of these player-characters subsequently appear as non-player characters in future games. * The player characters of the first ''Borderlands'' appear as NPCs in the later games. They are: Roland (voiced by Oliver Tull in ''Borderlands'' and Markus Lloyd in ''Borderlands 2'') a stoic soldier; Lilith (
Colleen Clinkenbeard Colleen Smith Clinkenbeard (born April 13, 1980) is an American voice actress, ADR director, line producer, and writer working for the anime-dubbing company Funimation. One of her major starts was as the English voice provider for Rachel Moor ...
), a "Siren" with magical powers; Mordecai (voiced by
Julio Cedillo Julio César Cedillo is a Mexican-American actor, best known for the title role in the 2005 film ''The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada''. Early life Cedillo was born in Durango, Mexico in 1970, but grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1988, he ...
in ''Borderlands'' and
Jason Liebrecht Ernesto Jason Liebrecht is an American voice actor who voices for a number of English versions of Japanese anime series and video games produced by Funimation/OkraTron 5000 and ADV Films. Some of his major roles include Lavi and the Millennium E ...
in subsequent games), a hunter and sniper with a pet bird-of-prey; and Brick (Marcus Mauldin), a strongman brawler. * The main protagonists of ''Borderlands 2'' are Axton ( Robert McCollum), a renegade soldier, Maya (Martha Harms), another Siren, Salvador ( John Swasey), a short-statured and short-tempered "gunzerker", and Zer0 (Michael Turner), an enigmatic masked assassin. Through DLC, two additional characters were added: Gaige (
Cherami Leigh Cherami Leigh (born July 19, 1988) is an American actress. She has provided voices for a number of English-language versions of anime series and video games with Funimation, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, NYAV Post, Studiopolis and Viz Media. Some ...
), the "Mechromancer", a young girl with a flying killer robot, and Krieg (
Jason Douglas Jason Douglas is an American film, television and voice actor, known as Tobin on AMC's '' The Walking Dead'', as the voice of Beerus in the anime film '' Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods ''and the series Dragon Ball Super, and Krieg in the vide ...
), a deranged wanderer with a split personality. * All but two of the player characters of the ''Pre-Sequel'' appeared in earlier games as NPCs. Athena (
Lydia Mackay Lydia Marie Mackay is an American voice and stage actress, known internationally for her work for Funimation and OkraTron 5000. She has provided voices for a number of English versions of Japanese anime films, television series and video games. E ...
) is a renegade assassin encountered in a DLC campaign in ''Borderlands''. Nisha Kadam ( Stephanie Young), a bounty hunter and eventually Jack's girlfriend, goes on to be killed by the players in ''Borderlands 2'' – as does Wilhelm (
Bryan Massey Bryan William Massey (born June 13, 1971) is an American film, television and voice actor. He is best known for his gravelly voice and sense of humor. He has appeared in numerous movies, TV shows, video games and cartoons. He is also the co-creat ...
), a cyborg mercenary obsessed with
transhumanism Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition. Transhuma ...
. The other two player characters of the ''Pre-Sequel'', available through DLC, are Timothy (
Dameon Clarke Dameon Clarke (born January 16) is a Canadian actor who has done work for anime, films, TV shows and video games. His voice acting roles have been with Funimation, where he voiced Cell in the ''Dragon Ball'' series, Younger Toguro in ''Yu Yu Ha ...
), a body double of Handsome Jack, and Lady Aurelia Hammerlock (Kenneisha Thompson), Alistair's sister and big game hunter. * ''Tales from the Borderlands'', set just after ''Borderlands 2'', introduces two protagonists: the Hyperion company man Rhys (
Troy Baker Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in '' BioShock Infinite'' (2013), Samuel ...
), and the con artist Fiona (
Laura Bailey Laura Bailey is an American voice actress. She made her anime debut as Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of ''Dragon Ball Z''. Her other anime credits include Emily / Glitter Lucky in ''Glitter Force'', Tohru Honda in ''Fruits Basket'', Lust in ...
). Other characters introduced in ''Tales from the Borderlands'' include Vaughn (
Chris Hardwick Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosts ''Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' The ...
), Rhys's best friend and a Hyperion accountant; Sasha (
Erin Yvette Erin Yvette is an American voice actress best known for her roles in character driven, narrative-heavy video games like Snow White in ''The Wolf Among Us'' by Telltale Games, Alex in Night School Studio’s debut ''Oxenfree'' and Chelsea Stevens ...
), Fiona's sister and fellow con artist; Gortys ( Ashley Johnson), an Atlas robot; and Felix (Norman Hall), Fiona and Sasha's father figure. * ''Borderlands 3'', set years after ''Tales from the Borderlands'', features four new Vault Hunter protagonists: Amara (
Zehra Fazal Zehra Fazal is an American voice actress, known for voicing Nadia Rizavi in '' Voltron: Legendary Defender'' and Halo and Bluebird in '' Young Justice: Outsiders''. Greg Weisman, the co-creator of ''Young Justice: Outsiders'' said "I wrote the rol ...
), a Siren; Moze (
Marissa Lenti Marissa Lenti (born September 18, 1992) is an American voice actor and ADR director who has worked with Funimation, Sentai Filmworks and Sound Cadence Studios. Some of Lenti's noteworthy roles include Yuna in ''Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear'', Shoko Maj ...
), a rogue Vladof soldier who pilots the
mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...
Iron Bear; Zane (Cian Berry), a black ops operative with a variety of gadgets; and FL4K ( Sung-Won Cho), a robot beastmaster. The antagonists are the Calypso Twins, Tyreen and Troy Calypso (Elisa Melendez and
Max Mittelman Maxwell Braden Mittelman (born September 5, 1990) is an American voice actor who provides voices for English versions of anime, animation and video games. Some of his major roles include Saitama in ''One-Punch Man'', Kousei Arima in ''Your Lie ...
), who are both Sirens.


Synopsis

Shortly after the Dahl corporation leaves the planet Pandora at the start of ''Borderlands'', four Vault Hunters arrive to seek out the Vault – Roland, Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick. They are guided by a mysterious entity, the Guardian Angel, that lives within the planet's communication EchoNet system, to collect pieces of the Vault Key, but warned that the Vault can only be accessed every 200 years, and that time is soon approaching, urging them onward. They eventually complete the Key, but immediately come into conflict with the Atlas corporation coming back to claim Pandora and the Vault. The Vault Hunters fight Atlas back and locate the Vault, but upon opening, it releases a giant monster, named the "Destroyer". They fight off the monster and push it back into the Vault, which then closes, leaving Pandora safe. In the ''Pre-Sequel'', Jack, a low-level programmer for Hyperion, discovers another Vault on Pandora's moon, Elpis, and hires six more Vault Hunters – Wilhelm, Athena, Claptrap, Nisha, Timothy, and Aurelia – to seek it in the wake of the First Vault's closure. With the Vault Hunters' help, Jack is able to seize control of Helios, the Hyperion space station in orbit between Pandora and Elpis, and uses its resources to secure the Vault with the help of the Hunters. Inside, there is only a strange artifact in the shape of the Vault symbol, but when Jack touches it, he experiences visions of the imminent release of the "Warrior". Jack starts to go mad with power, and Lilith punches the artifact into his face, disfiguring him forever. Jack assumes his mask, becoming Handsome Jack, and takes over Hyperion as he swears vengeance on the Vault Hunters. In ''Borderlands 2'', six new Hunters have arrived to find a new Vault that has been discovered on Pandora, but Handsome Jack uses his vast array of Hyperion resources to try to stop them. The new Hunters – Axton, Maya, Salvador, Zer0, Gaige, and Krieg – are aided by Roland and his former Vault Hunters, now leading a resistance known as the Crimson Raiders, secured in their base ''Sanctuary'', and further guided by the Guardian Angel, who is revealed to be Jack's Siren daughter, dying from excessive usage of her powers. Jack had used Angel to trick the former Vault Hunters into opening the Vault on Pandora to gain access to Eridium, a special alien mineral with untold properties. After The Vault Hunters kill Angel in an act of mercy and to disrupt Jack's plan, Jack appears in Angel's chamber and proceeds to kill Roland. Lilith teleports The Vault Hunters to safety before being captured by Jack and used to finish charging the Vault Key. While they find the Vault, Jack arrives and joins them as they open it, and he summons forth the gigantic Warrior, which he wants to use to control Pandora and beyond. The Vault Hunters defeat the Warrior and leave Jack to his death before discovering that the Vault Key contains a map leading to Vaults across the galaxy, with Lilith stating "there's no rest for the wicked". Sometime after these events, in ''Tales of the Borderlands'', the absence of Jack's control leaves a power void on both Pandora and Hyperion. A Hyperion lackey, Rhys, and a con artist Fiona get caught up in events over the sale of a fake Vault Key to Rhys' superior for ten million dollars. They discover that there is another vault, the Vault of the Traveler, controlled by an Atlas prototype robot named Gortys. As they collect the scattered parts of Gortys, Rhys inadvertently downloads an AI copy of Handsome Jack's personality into his cybernetic mind. Rhys and Fiona's group makes to Helios in a makeshift spacecraft, and Scooter sacrifices himself to assure they get there. Once back on Helios, Jack takes over the entire station. Rhys and Fiona stop Jack and cause the station to crash into Pandora, wiping out Jack's personality for good. After going their separate ways for a while, They reunite to help defeat the Traveler, another giant Vault monster, freeing Gortys and leaving the Vault to be explored. ''Borderlands 3'' follows 7 years after the events of ''Borderlands 2'' and ''Tales''. After being forced to destroy ''Sanctuary'' to protect Pandora from a doomsday plot by former Dahl commander, Colonel Hector, Lilith and the Crimson Raiders recover the Vault Key/Map to discover the many Vaults that exist across the galaxy, and travel among planets via their new spacecraft ''Sanctuary III''. However, the Calypso Twins, Tyreen and Troy, have claimed themselves the rightful owners of the Vaults, creating a
cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
, the Children of the Vault, from the remnant bandit factions of Pandora to secure these Vaults themselves, and making a strategic partnership with megacorporation Maliwan for military support. Lilith recruits new Vault Hunters – Zane, Amara, FL4K, and Moze – to help secure these Vaults before Tyreen and Troy can. They learn that the pair are Sirens themselves, seeking to absorb the power of the Vault monsters for their own to open the "Great Vault", revealed to be the planet Pandora itself, unaware that it still contains the "Destroyer", which is further explained to be a being intent on destroying the universe. With the help of former and new allies, the Crimson Raiders managed to stop the Calypso Twins and kill the Destroyer but at the cost of Maya and Lilith's lives, although the latter's fate is ambiguous.


Main series


''Borderlands''

''Borderlands'' was released in 2009, and combines traditional first-person shooter gameplay with character-building elements found in
role-playing games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
, leading Gearbox to call the game a "
role-playing shooter An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
". Players choose to play as one of four characters: Lilith the Siren, Mordecai the Hunter, Brick the Berserker, and Roland the Soldier. The game awards experience points for enemies killed and objectives completed, as well as encouraging skillful gameplay by granting bonuses to more difficult actions such as headshots. Earned experience builds toward the threshold of the next level. Leveling up provides the player with additional "skill points", which are used to select various skills that allow character specialization. In addition to various melee weaponry, the character can wield an array of firearms, grenades, and specialized weaponry, which are
procedurally generated In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated assets and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. In ...
to provide a rich variety of loot. The game supports solo play as well as a cooperative mode for up to four players. A
New Game Plus A New Game Plus, also New Game+ (NG+), is an unlockable video game mode available in some video games that allows the player to start a new game after they finish it at least once, where certain features in NG+ not normally available in a first ...
mode allows players to replay the game with the same character at a higher difficulty level. The game is set on the planet Pandora, contested by bandits, mercenaries of interstellar corporations, dangerous wildlife and, eventually, eldritch alien abominations. As a "Vault Hunter", guided by the mysterious "Guardian Angel", the player is searching for a fabled vault full of alien loot. ''Borderlands'' is characterized by its offbeat humor and a cartoonish,
cel-shaded Cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3-D computer graphics appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a shade gradient or tints and shades. A cel shader is often used to mimic t ...
art style. About 4.5 million copies of the game had been sold worldwide by 2011, an unexpected success for Gearbox. ''Borderlands'' received positive reviews, with an aggregate
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score of 81 to 86, depending on the platform. It was complemented by four DLC packs: ''The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned'', ''Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot'', ''The Secret Armory of General Knoxx'', and ''Claptrap's New Robot Revolution''. A remastered version for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – ''Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition'' – was released on April 3, 2019. It was released for Nintendo Switch version, which released on May 29, 2020.


''Borderlands 2''

The sequel to ''Borderlands'', released in 2012, picked up the setting and gameplay mechanics of its predecessor. Again, players control one of four (or, with DLC, six) Vault Hunters, while the four-player characters of the original game re-appear as
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...
s. The story, written by
Anthony Burch ''Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?'' (''HAWP'') is an independently produced series of sketch comedy videos created by siblings Anthony Burch and Ashly Burch. The series uses surreal humor and comical sibling rivalry to examine the themes, industry tr ...
, focuses on the players' struggle with Handsome Jack, the megalomaniacal CEO of the Hyperion corporation, who seeks control of Pandora's mineral riches and alien artifacts. Gearbox released five DLC campaigns that continue the main game's story (''Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty'', ''Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage'', ''Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt'', ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep'' and ''Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary''). In addition, several DLC packs introducing two new player characters (Gaige the Mechromancer and Krieg the Psycho), more character development possibilities and quests have been released. Even more so than the first game, ''Borderlands 2'' was an unexpected critical and commercial success. It was one of the best-selling games of 2012, and has become the best-selling game in the history of its publisher
2K Games 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. 2K was founded under Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports labels, following Take-Two Interactive's acquisition of Visual Concepts that same ...
, with 8.5 million copies sold by February 2014. The game received aggregate
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
scores of 89 to 91, depending on the platform. A port of ''Borderlands 2'' for the
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international terri ...
handheld was released in 2014, offering the full game and some of its DLC, but limited to two-person multiplayer.


''Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel''

Announced in April 2014, ''Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel'' was developed by
2K Australia 2K Australia Pty Ltd (formerly Irrational Games Australia Pty. Ltd.) was an Australian video game developer based in Canberra. The company was founded as Irrational Games Australia, a subsidiary of Irrational Games, in April 2000. Irrational G ...
and released for PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC in October 2014, as well as for Mac OS later in 2014. It is set on Elpis, the moon of Pandora, and its story – occurring between the events of the first two games – covers the rise of Handsome Jack to power. The game features four of Jack's henchmen as playable characters: Athena the Gladiator, Wilhelm the Enforcer, Nisha the Lawbringer and the robot Claptrap, "the Fragtrap". Jack's body double Timothy Lawrence and Sir Hammerlock's sister Aurelia were added later as DLC player characters. New game mechanics include the use of oxygen tanks and a boost jump. The game was re-released in 2015 as part of '' Borderlands: The Handsome Collection'', a compilation and port of ''Borderlands 2'' and ''The Pre-Sequel!'' for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.


''Borderlands 3''

''Borderlands 3'' was released on September 13, 2019, for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game had been in development at Gearbox as early as 2015, and was revealed at
PAX East PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX ...
on March 28, 2019. Borderlands 3 was the best selling game in the Borderlands series, selling over five million copies within the first 5 days of its release, and reaching 8 million by the end of 2019. As with past games, players select one of four new Vault Hunters – Amara the Siren, Moze the Gunner, Zane the Operative and FL4K the Beastmaster – as they try to stop the Calypso Twins from acquiring the greatest power in the universe, including on planets other than Pandora.


Collections


''Borderlands: The Handsome Collection''

'' Borderlands: The Handsome Collection'' included ''Borderlands 2'' and ''Borderlands the Pre-Sequel'' for release on
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 i ...
and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, as well as on
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...
and
macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...
, in March 2015. Both games were remastered by
Iron Galaxy Studios Iron Galaxy Studios, LLC is an American video game developer studio founded on August 14, 2008, and based in Chicago, Illinois, with a second studio in Orlando, Florida that was opened in 2012 and a third studio in Austin, Texas. Iron Galaxy do ...
and Armature Studio respectively to support the newer consoles, and included support for importing saves from either original game into the Collection to continue those characters.


''Borderlands Legendary Collection''

''Borderlands Legendary Collection'' includes ''Borderlands'', ''Borderlands 2'', and ''Borderlands the Pre-Sequel'' for the
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...
, it was released in May 2020.


Spin-off games


''Borderlands Legends''

To coincide with the release of ''Borderlands 2'', the iOS spin-off game ''Borderlands Legends'' was released on October 31, 2012, for iOS devices. It is more of a strategy game than a RPG and is played from a top-down perspective with players controlling all four Vault hunters from ''Borderlands''.


''LootTheWorld''

''LootTheWorld'' was a free mobile app available for iOS and Android released on December 12, 2013, and shut down on October 18, 2015. The app allowed users to scan barcodes and QR codes which unlocked items for ''Borderlands 2'' that could be transferred to the users game through their ShiFT account. The app was only available in the United States.


''Tales from the Borderlands''

''Tales from the Borderlands'' is a more narrative- and character-driven, episodic game developed by Telltale Games with collaboration from Gearbox Software, featuring returning and new characters from the ''Borderlands'' games. Its five episodes were published between November 2014 to October 2015 for multiple platforms. The game follows two protagonists, the
con artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have ...
Fiona and the Hyperion company man Rhys, as they somewhat questionably recount the plot of the game. Telltale Games aimed to incorporate two characteristics of the ''Borderlands'' series, gunplay and offbeat humor, into ''Tales from the Borderlands''.


''Borderlands Online''

''Borderlands Online'' was to be a China-exclusive online shooter game for PC and mobile devices, developed by
2K China 2K Games (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., doing business as 2K China (formerly 2K Shanghai), was a Chinese video game developer based in Shanghai. History 2K Shanghai was founded as a subsidiary of 2K (company), 2K on 9 May 2006, in response to China's ...
and
Gearbox Software Gearbox Software is an American video game development company based in Frisco, Texas. It was established as a limited liability company in February 1999 by five developers formerly of Rebel Boat Rocker. Randy Pitchford, one of the founders, s ...
, and published and operated by
Shanda Games Shanda Group is a privately-owned multinational investment firm. With offices in Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, New York and Redwood City, the firm invests in public markets, real estate and venture capital, focusing on companies in the fields ...
. It was slated to be released in 2015, but was cancelled in November 2015 when 2K China was closed because of profitability concerns.


''Tiny Tina's Wonderlands''

''Tiny Tina's Wonderlands'' is a standalone game based on the ''Borderlands'' universe, but taking place in a high-fantasy setting, shortly after the events of ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep'' DLC for ''Borderlands 2''. Like ''Borderlands'', ''Wonderlands'' will support four-player cooperative combat using procedurally-generated weapons and loot, though with additional focus on magic and melee weapons in addition to guns. According to Gearbox's CEO Randy Pitchford, the game's concept had been in development for more than ten years. In addition to Ashly Burch voicing Tiny Tina, it will include voice work from
Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 200 ...
as Captain Valentine,
Wanda Sykes Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on '' The Chris Rock Show'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, ''Entertai ...
as Frette the robot, and
Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...
as the Dragon Lord. The game released in March 25, 2022, on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X/S. Ahead of ''Wonderlands''s release, Gearbox released the ''Assault on Dragon Keep'' as a standalone game, ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure'', on November 9, 2021, for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.


''New Tales from the Borderlands''

A successor to '' Tales from the Borderlands'', ''New Tales from the Borderlands'' introduces three new playable characters: Anu, an altruistic scientist, Octavio, Anu's brother who is seeking for fame and fortune, and Fran, the owner of a frozen yogurt store who uses a hoverchair for mobility. The trio must also work together as they seek a vault key which may grant them access to a vault stashed with treasures, while fighting against Tediore, a weapon manufactuer who has invaded Promethra, the home planet of the three protagonists. The game was released on October 21, 2022 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Nintendo Switch.


Other media


Soundtracks

The soundtrack for ''Borderlands'', written by Jesper Kyd, Raison Varner,
Cris Velasco Cris Velasco is an American video game and film composer. His works include the musical scores for ''Overwatch'', ''Mass Effect'', '' Borderlands'', ''God of War'', '' StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm'' and ''Bloodborne''. Biography He has be ...
and Sascha Dikiciyan ( Sonic Mayhem), was published as ''Borderlands: Original Soundtrack'' in 2009, featuring 27 tracks. The soundtrack for the sequel, by the same composers, was published as ''Borderlands 2: Original Soundtrack'' in 2012, featuring 23 tracks. Soundtrack albums for several DLC campaigns were released separately.


Comic series

Four issues of a comic miniseries, ''Borderlands: Origins'', were published in print and digitally in November 2012. The series was written by Mikey Neumann and the artist Agustin Padilla, published by IDW. It tells the story of how the original four Vault Hunters came to be together at the beginning of ''Borderlands'', filling in their backstory and setting up the events of both games. Those are the titles: * ''Borderlands: Origins Roland'' * ''Borderlands: Origins Lilith'' * ''Borderlands: Origins Mordecai'' * ''Borderlands: Origins Brick'' * ''Borderlands: Origins Collected Edition'' A second series, ''Borderlands: Fall of Fyrestone'', also by Neumann and Padilla, was published in eight issues between July 2014 and April 2015. It followed the events of the first ''Borderlands'' game. * ''Borderlands: Fall of Fyrestone #1'' (July 2014) * ''Borderlands: Fall of Fyrestone #2'' (August 2014) * ''Borderlands: Fall of Fyrestone #3'' (October 2014) * ''Borderlands: Fall of Fyrestone #4'' (November 2014) * ''Borderlands: Fall of Fyrestone #5'' Tannis & The Vault Part 1 (December 2014) * ''Borderlands: Fall of Fyrestone #6'' Tannis & The Vault Part 2 (January 2015) * ''Borderlands: Fall of Fyrestone #7'' Tannis & The Vault Part 3 (March 2015) * ''Borderlands: Fall of Fyrestone #8'' Tannis & The Vault Part 4 (April 2015) A video game art book, ''The Art of Borderlands 2'', is available.


Novels

Pocket Books published three ''Borderlands'' novels by
John Shirley John Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of fantasy, science fiction, dark street fiction, westerns, and songwriting. He has also written one historical novel, a western about Wyatt Earp, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', and ...
, covering Roland and Mordecai's origins and their adventures after the events of ''Borderlands'': *''Borderlands: The Fallen'' (November 22, 2011), *''Borderlands: Unconquered'' (September 25, 2012), *''Borderlands: Gunsight'' (October 1, 2013),


Film

A film adaptation of ''Borderlands'' is in production as of April 2021 as a tentpole movie by
Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
, with
Avi Arad Avi Arad (; he, אבי ארד; born 1948) is an Israeli-American film producer who became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and the chairman, CEO, and founde ...
producing with
Erik Feig Erik Feig is an American film executive and producer. In May 2019, Feig launched Picturestart with backing from Warner Bros., Endeavor Content, and Bron Studios and access to Scholastic Corporation's IP. He served as co-president of the Lion ...
. Gearbox CEO
Randy Pitchford Randy Pitchford is an American businessman. He co-founded the video game development studio Gearbox Software in 1999 and was president and CEO for the company until 2021, upon which he became CEO and president of Gearbox's parent company, The ...
and
Take-Two Interactive Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City and founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993. The company owns two major publishing labels, Rockstar Games and 2K, which operate internal ...
's CEO Strauss Zelnick will serve as executive producers.
Craig Mazin Craig Mazin (born April 8, 1971) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for creating the five-part HBO miniseries ''Chernobyl'', based on the nuclear disaster of the same name in 1986. His work earned him two Primetime Em ...
will write the script and
Eli Roth Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, having directed the films '' Cabin Fever'' (2003) and ''Hoste ...
is to direct the film and co-write the film with Mazin, The film will star
Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received n ...
and
Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...
in the lead roles as Lilith and Roland, and will also include
Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...
,
Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...
,
Ariana Greenblatt ''Stuck in the Middle'' is an American family comedy television series developed by Alison Brown and Linda Videtti Figueiredo and created by Alison Brown that premiered on Disney Channel on February 14, 2016. The series focuses on Jenna Ortega a ...
,
Florian Munteanu Florian Munteanu (; born 13 October 1990), also known by his ring name Big Nasty, is a German-born Romanian actor and boxer. He is known for his role of the boxer Viktor Drago in ''Creed II'' (2018) and ''Creed III'' (2023), and Razor Fist in th ...
, Haley Bennett, Edgar Ramirez, Olivier Richters, and Janina Gavankar.


Tabletop games

Alongside the reveal of ''Borderlands 3'', Gearbox presented a card game called ''Borderlands: Tiny Tina's Robot Tea Party''. Designed for two to five players and taking 15 minutes a game, the goal is to collect the necessary cards to assemble a specific Claptrap model, but which can be waylaid by action cards played by other players. The game is being published by Gearbox, XYZ Game Labs, and Nerdvana Games.


Notes


References

{{Embracer Group 2K Games franchises Take-Two Interactive franchises Embracer Group franchises Video games adapted into comics Video games adapted into films Video games adapted into novels Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2009 Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set on fictional planets Open-world video games Fiction about corporate warfare