Borderlands 3 Release Date, Playable Characters Confirmed In Trailer

2K and Gearbox Software have officially announced that the Borderlands 3 release date is set for September 13, 2019. This confirms what was revealed in a leak last week, although the timing of that leak--April Fools' Day--understandably prompted some hesitation. The game will be available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Alongside the release date, Gearbox has also released a new trailer, which confirms that, at launch, the game will be distributed through the Epic Games Store on PC. Borderlands 3 will then come to additional PC digital storefronts in April 2020, making it one of the most high-profile games to skip Steam for Epic. This resulted in a backlash from some fans who responded by review-bombing the Borderlands games on Steam.

In turn, Valve made use of recently added tools to wipe out the reviews, and Gearbox's Randy Pitchford responded in a way the review bombers may not have hoped. "Ironically, that this misuse is possible and that Steam has no interest in correcting this misuse makes me kind of happy about 2K's decision and makes me want to reconsider Gearbox Publishing's current posture on the platform," he said.

The new Borderlands 3 trailer is a showcase of gameplay and also introduces the new playable Vault Hunter characters that you'll take control of as you hunt for loot, the legendary Vaults, and take on the fanatical Calypso Twins. Among them is Moze the Gunner, Amara the Siren, FL4K the Beastmaster, and Zane the Operative.

While we've still yet to see a whole lot of the game, we can expect the slow unveiling to continue early next month. Gearbox has confirmed that a Borderlands 3 gameplay reveal event is slated for May 1. That should give us much more detail on the heroes and their powers, as well as any new mechanics or systems planned for Borderlands 3.

Moze is able to summon a mech which other players can mount, Amara can summon ethereal arms to brawl using, FL4K controls beasts--as his class name implies--and Zane is very handy for distracting enemies, slipping into combat, doing damage, and escaping. For more on the characters, check out our Borderlands 3 Vault Hunter breakdown.

The antagonistic Calypso Twins, meanwhile, are attempting to unite the various bandit clans with the goal of taking ownership of the galaxy's ultimate power.

Whereas previous games were mainly focused on single, sprawling locations on Pandora, Borderlands 3 will give players the opportunity to travel to new worlds beyond it. Gearbox is promising that each one will feature unique environments and enemies.

Another new feature introduced for the game is level sync, which makes co-op play a little more friendly by scaling the experience for each player, regardless if they are playing together online or locally in split-screen, or their level and mission progress. The tentpole feature for Borderlands 3 is vehicular combat, which is sure to inspire Mad Max-esque feelings in players, as they tear across savage lands engaging in combat with enemies.

Watch the trailer above to see it all come together in gameplay footage. The trailer also invites players to pre-order the game for access to golden weapons. For more on the game, head over to our Borderlands 3 round-up, which brings together everything we know about the game so far.