Borderlands 3 was officially revealed last week at PAX East, although it was long-rumoured to have been in development. Since then, Gearbox has released a lot of new information, along with a second trailer. However, while a great many fans are excited to see the beloved franchise return, Gearbox has upset some PC players with the announcement that the Borderlands 3 PC version will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store. The news has been greeted with thousands of dislikes on the most recent trailer, as well as review-bombing of previous Borderlands titles on Steam.
Borderlands 3 PC Version Will be Exclusive to the Epic Games Store for 6 Months
Borderlands 3 will be releasing on the 13th of September on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. However, the latest trailer revealed that the Borderlands 3 PC version will be an Epic Games Store exclusive; one more title on an increasing list of major titles signing exclusivity deals with the platform. Epic Games recently announced a whole host of upcoming games which will be exclusives; including The Outer Worlds and the PC port of Detroit: Become Human. The Division 2 and Metro Exodus also recently released as Epic Games Store exclusives.
Most of these exclusivity deals will last for one year. However, the Borderlands 3 deal will actually end after just six months. Gearbox clarified in their press release that; “Borderlands 3 will be available on additional PC digital storefronts in April 2020.”
The announcement has proven unpopular with some PC players, who have responded by review-bombing the Borderlands franchise on Steam.
A similar response followed the announcement that Metro Exodus would be an EGS exclusive, although it didn’t translate to a measurable impact on sales. However, there also appear to be many Borderlands fans who aren’t happy about this reactionary protest; a near-equal number of positive reviews began to appear shortly after the review-bombing began, seemingly attempting to counteract the negative sentiment. A similar reaction happened on Steam for Metro Exodus last month, though on a smaller scale.