In Borderlands 3, players will learn the release date next week. Gearbox plans to announce when Borderlands 3 will be released on April 3, 2019. There are already some initial speculations: Many expect a launch of Borderlands 3 still in 2019.
This is the announcement from Gearbox: Yesterday, there was the big reveal stream from Gearbox at Pax East. There, a first trailer for the game Borderlands 3 was shown.
However, there is no official release date yet. Anyway, Gearbox only revealed a few real pieces of information about Borderlands 3 and celebrated a long wait for the decisive moment.
Following the event, the CEO of Gearbox, Randy Pitchford, confirmed that they would unveil the release date for Borderlands 3 on April 3, 2019. That’s already next Wednesday.
Does the trailer reveal the launch date already?
These speculations are now circulating: On reddit, the theory is circulating that the release date would be 1.10.
One user has a proof for that:
- In the trailer for Borderlands 3, two numbers are prominently visible in close temporal proximity: the 1 and the 10. This makes 1.10.2019.
The site PCGamesN adds:
- The first Borderlands was released on October 20, 2009 – so now this would be the 10th anniversary
- Additionally, this could fit well because 1.10.2019 is a Tuesday, making it a good date for a release
What other theories about the release date are there?
Basically, it is believed that Borderlands 3 should be released by March 31, 2020, which is supported by statements from publisher Take-Two. They did not explicitly mention Borderlands but referred to a “highly anticipated game, one of the biggest 2K franchises” – that can only mean Borderlands 3.
Currently, three time frames are circulating as possible release dates for Borderlands 3.
- The idea that would please many fans the most is a release in the style of “Apex Legends”: almost simultaneous with the announcement. Gearbox would announce on April 3 that they are starting with Borderlands 3 immediately.
How likely is this early release window? It’s not very likely at all. Borderlands 3 will be a retail title. It would have surely leaked beforehand if it were going to happen quickly.
And the retailers also want to run proper advertising for it.
- Another possibility is classically in the “fall” of 2019, right in the blockbuster season when big games and expansions are traditionally released. We currently do not know how much competition Borderlands 3 will face – the games for this will usually be revealed in advance of E3.
How likely is the mid release window? This is more likely. Perhaps they will already go into late summer and take the spot that Destiny traditionally occupies – in September.
Maybe Gearbox is speculating that Bungie will leave the spot open this year or they are confident that the brand is strong enough to stand out. Or they are bold and deliberately competing against the 2019 Call of Duty.
- Fans would certainly be a bit disappointed if Borderlands 3 were to be released only in spring 2020 – then players would have to wait longer. But the field would surely be open for Gearbox.
How likely is the late release window? This would be the release slot that Anthem and The Division 2 occupied this year and which is quite lucrative. Then they could have actually waited until E3 if Borderlands 3’s release is still almost a year away.
Furthermore, Gearbox has declared 2019 as the “year of Borderlands,” so a release in 2020 would be inappropriate.
