In Borderlands 3 there is a shotgun from Maliwan, the Trevonator. This weapon is associated with a tragic story. Because the legendary shotgun was designed by Gearbox in honor of 27-year-old Trevor Eastman, who is terminally ill with cancer.
This is the story of the weapon: Borderlands fan Trevor Eastman is 27 years old and suffers from cancer that has affected his esophagus, stomach, and liver.
He turned to the community on reddit in April 2019 and said: His greatest hope was to still be able to play Borderlands 3 before he dies.
The community made such a commotion about Trevor’s wish that Gearbox took notice.
In June, it became known that Eastman was actually able to play Borderlands 3. And Gearbox even took it a step further. They designed the weapon “Trevonator”, a Maliwan shotgun, in his honor, which would be available at the release of Borderlands 3.
Gearbox gave the shotgun the flavor text “Trev is gunna get you” at Eastman’s request.
Terminally ill player checks in again
This is how Trevor is doing now: Trevor has checked in now with the release of Borderlands 3 (via reddit). He says:
- The positive thing is that he is actually able to play the game at release – the nice people at Gearbox sent him a digital copy. And he couldn’t be more grateful for what they have done for him.
- The negative thing is that the doctors have stopped his therapy; he is now permanently taking morphine for the unbearable pain and has to subsist on protein shakes. He has left the hospital to die at home.
Trevor is now looking forward to playing the full version of Borderlands 3.
He then shows pictures of the “Trevonator”, his weapon, with a special skin that Gearbox apparently designed for the launch, which has the clearly readable “TREVonator” on the side.
This is how the community reacts: Many are happy that Trevor can play and has checked in again.
People are discussing the weapon. Some have already found it, and say it is actually quite powerful. The Trevonator is not available as a quest reward, but randomly in Borderlands 3.
Players who already have the Trevonator say: “I will destroy everything with it – in your name” or “I will keep it forever.”
Trevor himself says he has not found the weapon yet. He is on the hunt for it.
