Borderlands (video game)

Borderlands
Cover art featuring a Psycho Bandit
Developer(s)Gearbox Software[a]
Publisher(s)2K
Producer(s)
  • Simon Hurley
  • Stephen Palmer
Designer(s)Matthew Armstrong
Programmer(s)
  • Steven Jones
  • Patrick Deupree
  • Jimmy Sieben
Artist(s)
  • Brian Martel
  • Jennifer Wildes
  • Jim Sanders
Writer(s)
Composer(s)
SeriesBorderlands
Engine
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Microsoft Windows
OS X
  • WW: December 3, 2010[3]
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • WW: April 3, 2019[4]
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: May 29, 2020
Genre(s)Action role-playing, first-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Borderlands is a 2009 action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. It is the first game in the Borderlands series. The game was released worldwide in October 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows,[1] with a Mac OS X version being released on December 3, 2010 by Feral Interactive.[5] The game's story focuses on a group of four "Vault Hunters", who travel to the distant planet of Pandora to search for the "Vault", which is rumored to contain advanced alien technology and other priceless riches. The hunters piece together clues to find the Vault while battling the savage wildlife of Pandora, local bandits that populate the planet, and ultimately banding together to prevent the Atlas Corporation and its privately funded paramilitary forces from reaching the Vault first.

The game features the ability to explore the in-game world, and complete both main missions and optional side quests, either in single-player or online cooperative gameplay, with the latter providing additional options for duels and competitive PVP matches in designated areas. Gameplay features include access to various weapons and shields that vary in type and statistics, weapons with special elemental functions, each playable character having distinctive class types and unique abilities for combat, upgradable skills, and the use of two-person vehicles. The game itself is rendered in cartoon-style graphics, to provide greater detail on weapons and environments, and was inspired by various action role-playing games of the time, such as Ultima and Diablo.

Borderlands was received positively upon its release, and sold over two million units by the end of 2009. It is considered to be one of the greatest video games ever made. Its success spawned four DLCs—The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned in November 2009, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot in December 2009, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx in February 2010, and Claptrap's New Robot Revolution in September 2010—and three follow-ups, Borderlands 2 in September 2012, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel in October 2014, and Borderlands 3 in September 2019. A remastered version titled Borderlands Game of the Year Enhanced for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One— was released on April 3, 2019, which features graphical enhancements, and gameplay improvements backported from Borderlands 2.[6] The remastered version was released for the Nintendo Switch alongside Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel as part of the Borderlands Legendary Collection in May 2020.

  1. ^ a b c Thorsen, Tor (July 22, 2009). "Borderlands lands Oct 20". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Haynes, Jeff (September 22, 2009). "Borderlands Gets Slightly Delayed". IGN. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "Borderlands GOTY version heading to Mac on December 3". November 18, 2010. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  4. ^ "Borderlands: Game of the Year Official Trailer". YouTube. March 28, 2019. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  5. ^ "Feral Interactive: Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition". Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  6. ^ McWhertor, Michael (March 28, 2019). "Borderlands remaster coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One in April". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.


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