Is Borderlands Remastered still happening, will Gearbox show off this new iteration of the original Borderlands at E3?
Remastered editions are hot at the moment. A lot of last gen games are getting a re-release with boosted visuals these days. Where games like Tomb Raider are simply getting increased graphics, there are also completely remastered games like Halo’s Anniversary Edition.
With these releases, the game gets a makeover and is transferred to a new game engine. What the case will be for Borderlands Remastered is still unknown. Recently Take-Two Interactive Software which owns 2K released its financial report and had a few things to say.
“Fiscal 2016 is off to a great start, highlighted by the April launch of Grand Theft Auto V for the PC, which has exceeded our expectations. Throughout the coming year, we will continue to execute our proven strategy of launching a select array of the highest-quality titles, led by new annual releases of NBA 2K and WWE 2K; Battleborn, a groundbreaking new intellectual property from Gearbox Software; and a soon-to-be announced new triple-A title from 2K.
We also will continue to deliver innovative offerings designed to promote ongoing engagement with our games and drive recurrent consumer spending. Beyond fiscal 2016, we have a robust development pipeline and our Company is well-positioned to deliver growth and margin expansion over the long-term.
Take-Two Fiscal 2016 Rapport
Could this Soon-to-be announced triple-A title from 2K be Borderlands Remastered?
What we know so far is that the Australian rating board added Borderlands Remastered to their system. The developer working on the project was 2K AUS, so far so good. Then Gearbox showed up with Borderlands the Handsome Collection. This bundle containing Borderlands 2 and the Pre-sequel was getting a next-gen release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. When fans asked about the absence of the original Borderlands, Randy Pitchford had the following to say.
Randy Pitchford’s response to Borderlands Remastered
So late in the development cycle of Borderlands the Pre-sequel the decision was made the port the game to Xbox One & PlayStation 4.
Because Gearbox didn’t have time to do it, as they are busy developing Battleborn, and 2K AUS was finishing up the game, the discussion was made to outsource the port at Iron Galaxy.
Because Borderlands 2 runs on the same engine as the Pre-sequel the cost & effort was quite cost-effective. That’s why they made that bundle happen and if Borderlands the Handsome Collection is a success, he could see 2K (the publishing partner) willing to do a remaster of the original Borderlands.
Remaster Potential?
That story took place in February and since then 3 months have passed and Randy Tweeted a quote from the finance report:
Reading through the comments you can see that still a lot of fans want to see Borderlands 1 make its return.
But who is going to make Borderlands Remastered Edition happen?
Well, the Pre-sequel and all its downloadable content are finished. You would say that 2K AUS that was mentioned on the rating document should have enough time… well….no.
2K Games decided to close the studio. The story goes that 2K wanted to move the studio to the big city. This way they could attract new talent and be more cost-effective. But some key employees were not so happy with this move so they would leave. Without those important talents, it was not reasonable to build a new studio.
I’m not sure what the timespan is on closing down 2K AUS, overall I’m finding reports that they closed on April 16th, the time the first reports of shutting down were coming online. I know that James Lopez, Producer on Borderlands the Pre-Sequel was at the studio on April 21st. So maybe they are finishing things up?
And what is James doing there btw? The Pre-Sequel and all its DLC were done, the Claptastic Voyage was released a month before that tweet. Unless Mr. Lopez also had an eye on Borderlands Remastered Edition…hmmm… why send 2 producers if one can manage both, 2K AUS was described as the developer of the remastered edition of Borderlands.
But if it’s not 2K AUS, who then would finish the project? Gearbox Software is working on Battleborn and Borderlands 3 or does the team that did Homeworld Remastered have time? I guess all arrows are focused on completing Battleborn at the moment.
Who’s next, Iron galaxy? There is an unannounced 2K Project up on their site, but since the Hand Collection is not listed we will go with that they didn’t update their site recently. Maybe 2K’s cost-effectiveness is to fly James over to one of the other studios that has time to spare, 2K Marin (former part of irrational games), 2k Czech, or 2K Vegas. A lot of questions but still no answers.
So will there be an announcement on E3 and when would such a release take place?
2K’s big game at the end of this year is probably going to be Battleborn. A brand new IP by Gearbox Software. It would be a save bet for them to release Battleborn before the other big Triple-A titles, games like Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, and Halo will eat a big pie out of your sales numbers. Because Battleborn still has to prove itself, therefore, I think they will go with the same strategy they did with the first Borderlands.
Could Borderlands Remastered Edition ship before that or will it move towards Q1 2016?
Let me know what your thoughts are about this subject.
Is this Borderlands Remastered Edition or some other game?
Do you want a remaster of the original Borderlands?
If it’s a re-release of the first Borderlands do you want a simple port or do you want them to go butt-wild and remake the whole thing?
