Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford just confirmed that there will be no Borderlands 3 microtransactions at their recent gameplay reveal event, Addressing the crowd at the end of their live gameplay demo, Pitchford stated “no microtransactions… none of that nonsense” much to the crowd’s amazement.
In a time when most games are built around them, Borderlands 3 not having them is quite refreshing. That said, previous Borderlands games also didn’t feature much in terms of microtransactions. For the most part, Gearbox has focused on actual expansions when creating DLC for the franchise. They have instead supported each Borderlands game with numerous mission packs and story expansions That said, they did release a skin and head pack for Borderlands 2. However, them releasing this seems to have been the exception, and not the norm. Additionally, Borderlands 2 also received small “headhunter packs.” These small missions could technically be counted as microtransactions due to their low price.
Borderlands 3 is a commitment to what Borderlands is supposed to be, according to Pitchford. If you want to play offline, fine, if you want to play online, that’s great too. There will be tons of campaign and customization DLC available for the game post-launch, but there won’t be any in-game Borderlands 3 microtransactions. Which in this day and age of gaming should be considered a big win for gamers.
Borderlands 3 is also aimed to be the perfect entry point for gamers that are new to the series as well as a familiar journey for those who have been with the series for a long time. For those who have never played a Borderlands game, they won’t feel lost if they play Borderlands 3 without playing any of the other games. On the flip side, for those who are longtime fans of the series, Borderlands 3 will still be as exciting as any Borderlands game and offer fresh content to seasoned players.
Borderlands 3 is set to release on September 13, 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
