Gearbox making a run for Borderlands

Brothers in Arms and Aliens developer prepping "Mad Max meets Diablo" sci-fi shooter-RPG hybrid for the PS3, PC, and 360.

Gearbox Software is busy. After putting the finishing touches on Ubisoft's Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC), the Texas-based developer will shift its attention to a shooter based on the Aliens films. (The company is also in predevelopment of a Heat game.) However, the latest Game Informer cover invokes another iconic sci-fi movie--Mad Max--when describing another Gearbox title, Borderlands.

And you thought preapocalyptic traffic was bad...

The GI cover reveals the unnamed project Gearbox employees have obliquely referenced is, in fact, a hybrid sci-fi shooter and role-playing game. Though details on Borderlands are currently scant, the print magazine did let slip that it will feature four-player online co-op, as will Halo 3. The magazine also compared Borderlands to Blizzard's classic action-RPG Diablo, and said it will be coming to the 360, PS3, and PC.

The Game Informer cover, which shows off-road vehicles, and Mad Max references have led some to compare Borderlands to Rage (PC, PS3, 360, Macintosh), the recently revealed postapocalyptic driving/shooting game from id Software. Though no release date has yet been revealed for either game, they appear to be part of a growing number of high-profile titles set in a less-than-rosy near future. Also on the horizon is Bethesda's much-anticipated Fallout 3 (PC, 360, PS3), which resurrects the classic RPG series in the radioactive ruins of Washington, DC.

67 Comments

  • -White_Knight-

    Posted Jun 27, 2008 4:43 pm PT

    I've been waiting on this game for too long!!! (However, I hope they do these few things before release):1. Put in another character. It's a 4-player co-op game with 3 characters...uhhh...2. Lotsa magic powers. Don't make me be Lilith only because she's got magic! 3. A few close range weapons. I like guns 'n all, but I prefer swords. AND 4. A split-screen co-op mode! I like playin' Live, but I wanna play with my bro and sis, too!!! (Would a guest sign-in feature hurt, either?)

  • ImSpartacus811

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 5:08 pm PT

    I still want that fully automatic sniper rifle that fires homing poison darts. Get the damn game done already!

  • BradConrad

    Posted Sep 4, 2007 8:45 pm PT

    Here are some quotes from the developers of Borderlands from Game Informer.

    "You can take every shooter in this entire generation on the Xbox 360, all of the waepons that everyone of them has, add them all together and this game has more - Two orders of magnitude more." -Randy Pitchford

    "We're building this game from the start as a co-op game that you can play by yourself." -Matthew Armstrong

  • Absolutezerr

    Posted Sep 3, 2007 6:22 pm PT

    GI says It'll have 500,000 WEAPONS! HOLY F***!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    That is kinda crazy for a shooter with great graphics. Hopefully it won't feel like all the guns handle the same, or make the same noises. That might ruin the awe of such a high number just a little bit.

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 12:53 pm PT

    This game looks nice.

  • Targzissian

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 11:07 am PT

    Auto Assault was also a post-apocalyptic driving-shooting game. It didn't do so well. But it's not the setting so much as how the game is implemented that determines success.

  • jcloverboy

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 9:04 am PT

    Looks nice. I'll be sure to kep an eye on this title.

  • JLCrogue

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 8:54 am PT

    Sounds great. Action-RPG/FPS hybrids tend to be getting more common and popular today.

  • NandoSupes

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 8:39 am PT

    a lot of post-apocalyptic games coming out,cool.nice to see some new IP's for us gamers Fallout 3 in particular looks very nice.

  • R3V3N4N7

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 1:54 am PT

    Cool. it's nice to see some new ip's coming.

  • NinjaMunkey01

    Posted Aug 16, 2007 1:12 am PT

    an rpg AND a shooter. sounds great!

  • Lonelynight

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 11:37 pm PT

    Nice to see theres a PC version

  • BlackBaldwin

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 9:24 pm PT

    I Really like Gearbox as a developer so far. Everything they have came out with has been rather interesting to play and from the looks at what they have been working on they seem like a company that could put the states gaming franchise on the map... I can't wait to see how they do in the future of gaming...

  • azizrulez

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 9:07 pm PT

    its seems cool,and might actually be good and i hope they avoid Fallout 3 when the eventually release or else no one will even notice it even came out

  • unholygemini

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 8:27 pm PT

    If it is anything like the movie The Road Warrior, it will rock your face off.

  • HaTmAn101DK

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 6:29 pm PT

    a role playing game when you could be shooting at the stealthy beastly aliens?
    wtf?

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 5:10 pm PT

    Since it is Gearbox, I guess it is worth watching.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 4:16 pm PT

    sounds differnt, I will be watching it

  • flackstone

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 4:05 pm PT

    One more thing to add if it is a timed exclusive which is not yet known i can wait.

  • jenovaproject

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 4:01 pm PT

    Is this the same as this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borderland_Series ?

    Cause if so, BADASS. I loved those books.

    I hope they don't pull a Shadowrun, though.

  • flackstone

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 3:59 pm PT

    looks like fallout 3 mixed with rez evil 3(movie) setting

  • legandary_ACE

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 3:29 pm PT

    you're right SporkFireXPS, Gamespot has the 360/PC versions marked as TBA and the PS3 version marked for Q4 2007

  • SporkFireXPS

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 3:22 pm PT

    jop360, Only the PS3 version of Haze has been confirmed. If it comes out on the Xbox 360 it will be later in 2008.

    Here is an article posted in the Official Xbox Magazine.

    "The Haze saga took another twist as Ubisoft removed it from the Xbox 360 release schedule the publishers sent out."

    "No sooner had Ubisoft sent out a release schedule for their forthcoming games, an amended one was sent out soon afterwards with Haze only listed as a PlayStation3 release. "Note that Haze is only confirmed for the PS3," said a Ubisoft UK PR. "Neither PC or Xbox 360 are confirmed platform releases.""

  • ElectrolightSH

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 3:08 pm PT

    Borderlands sounds like it will be an awesome game and I can't wait to play it.

    I plan on buying Borderlands, Rage and Fallout 3 as well as the above-mentioned Halo 3.

  • MilkyJoe1

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 3:04 pm PT

    Brilliant an RPG will be much better than RAGE which isnt (i think?)

  • jop360

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 3:03 pm PT

    Hummlooks cool, but im going to read up on it before i say anything about but as far as 814StopsToday, Halo went into production way before that peice of crap Haze game. Either way Haze is coming out for both the ps3 and the 360 so w/e

  • twolegsbad

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 2:53 pm PT

    Shadow of Chernobyl, Fallout 3, Metro 2033, Rage, Clear Sky, and now Borderlands. I wonder if there will be time to play all of these games before the world ends. I hope so...I need all the practice so I can get my Mad Max on when Obama provokes Pakistan into nuclear war. I have to say the swarm of apocalypse games is a breath of fresh air after the toxic flood of gangsta crap we had to live through last year.

  • DarioD04

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 2:52 pm PT

    interesting

  • Lightchaos

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 2:39 pm PT

    looks cool!

  • GoodkupoBan

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 2:15 pm PT

    Wow, there are a lot of dystopia, or scifi shooters / rpg hybrids are in development. Can't wait to see it's first trailer. Im still waiting for BIA:HH from GearBox.

  • HummaKavula

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 2:14 pm PT

    It sounds awesome.

  • Dark_Nexus3367

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 2:12 pm PT

    Gearbox is a very talented developer,Brothers In Arms is a fantastic shooter that was refreshing for something set in WW2.Hell's Highway looks up to par with their standards,and hopefully this new game and the Aliens game will be too.Rage looks cool,but the story doesn't seem to have much depth to it while Gearbox is known for making very deep and engaging games,so maybe their project will be better than ID's Rage game.Also,guys,keep in mind that the only reason that they have this many games simultaneously being developed is because they have expanded their company into several development teams.But the team working on this game is in fact the same team working on Hell's Highway,if you read the article it said once they are done with BIA: Hell's Highway that they will go full steam ahead on this next project as opposed to now when they are just brainstorming and placing in some ideas.Anyways,I hope this game lives up to it's potential because Gearbox is definitely a respectable developer.

  • bstarter29

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 2:11 pm PT

    Looks great. Can't wait for more info.

  • jogunther

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 2:03 pm PT

    Yeah haesuse, I agree, with small worries about developers streching themselves thin. After all we want the games to be Good. On the topic though, the concepts for Borderlands and Rage are intriguing. Oh Yeah, and Haze, which looks sweet, did announce its plans on the 4 player before Halo and others.

  • GameMaster579

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 2:00 pm PT

    postapocalyptic is the most fun way to do an RPG in the future

  • getbent57

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 1:55 pm PT

    This sounds pretty cool.

  • atrimus

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 1:45 pm PT

    wow! i haven't seen this many (PC, 360, PS3)'s linked to so many promising-sounding games in a long while.

  • runstalker

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 1:41 pm PT

    Brothers in Arms has been very good to Gearbox, in terms of revenues. They've been able to expand the size of their team(s) for new contracts like Aliens. You can't suddenly pull twice the amount of next-gen games out of yer bum without fortifying the ranks. Then again, who can say how talented the new teams are? Growth can be tricky.

  • Lt_Riggs

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 1:39 pm PT

    "ShadowJinx uh..."mad maz meets diablo" sure sounds a whole lot like fallout 1 and 2."

    uh.. in what way does fallout 1/2 resemble diablo at all other than the isometric view. its not even close to the same gameplay

  • Shinedown220

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 1:37 pm PT

    Looks cool, GearBox is one ofthe most underappreciated developers. Can't wait to learn more about it.

  • haesuse

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 1:22 pm PT

    yeah i agree, wait and see. i mean in the sea of hack and slash Diablo style games, its nice to see titles such as Borderlands and Hellgate: London but in all honesty, for me, there is only room for one game like that, so time will tell!
    in other notes, did anyone pay attention that these guys are maybe developing too many games at one and just a side note, they all might come to be crap if they stretch themselves too thin?

  • runstalker

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 1:18 pm PT

    First post-apocalyptic stop: Hellgate London.

  • beckoflight

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 1:16 pm PT

    Well we have to w8 and see !

  • doomsoth

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 1:06 pm PT

    They really need to finish one game before spreading out like this.

  • Alaris83

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 12:58 pm PT

    Do we really need another Action RPG?

  • ShadowJinx

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 12:56 pm PT

    uh..."mad maz meets diablo" sure sounds a whole lot like fallout 1 and 2.

  • 814StopsToday

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 12:47 pm PT

    sascha23 You should update this article to note that Haze will also boast 4-player co--op.

    ---------------------
    I was thinking the exact same thing, Haze announced it first, why does Halo 3 get the glory

  • HALOISTHEBEST26

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 12:45 pm PT

    Icarus405 "F3, then Rage and now this!? Post Apocalyptic Games seem to be popular now" lol i agree i guess its where the moneys at

  • prodigychild123

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 12:44 pm PT

    When will this come out? In a year? Two?

  • sascha23

    Posted Aug 15, 2007 12:40 pm PT

    You should update this article to note that Haze will also boast 4-player co--op.

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