With Borderlands 3 In Development, Gearbox Shows Off New Tech Demo

During a panel at the Game Developers Conference, Borderlands developer Gearbox Software provided a look at a tech demo. It reveals some of the techniques that may be used in a future game--like Borderlands 3.

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford noted more than once that what was being shown is a tech demo, rather than an actual game. The talk provided some insight into the approach Gearbox has used previously to build the Borderlands games' distinct look. You can check it out in the Twitch video below at the 1:11:13 mark (as pointed out by NeoGAF).

Pitchford started out by discussing the edge outlining Gearbox has used, saying, "We want to evolve this look for the future, to make it more natural and basically next-gen."

He also talked about new tools that provide Gearbox artists with more flexibility. In particular, one "allows the scene to simulate in real time as time of day changes or conceivably we have different physics, if we, for example, were to explore different planets. There might be different physics, and the sun and the moons might be in different positions than we're used to on Pandora."

Pitchford never says this work is part of Borderlands 3, but given it's an evolution of techniques used for past games in the series, it's the natural assumption.

In two different scenes, a Borderlands-looking character is shown off. The first time, her back is to the viewer, while the second sees her conveniently positioned with her shoulder pad blocking her face. Pitchford said, "Don't worry about the character," but acknowledged that it was no coincidence that her face was obscured. That would seemingly suggest it's a returning character from a previous game.

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At the end, Pitchford showed a scene that "gives you a sense of what a future game from Gearbox might look like." He also reiterated that what was being shown wasn't specifically part of a game.

"This is not a video game; this is a technology demonstration of some ongoing research and development at Gearbox Software," he said. "Some or all of the technologies that I demonstrated may be utilized by future Gearbox Software video games."

He then extended an offer to work with prospective developers and technology companies, before addressing fans. "If you're a customer that's looking forward to a future Borderlands game, we're working on it," he said. "We'll get you soon."

Pitchford confirmed that a new Borderlands was in development last year, though it won't necessarily be called Borderlands 3.