Gearbox holding back Borderlands surprises, lets one slip

9:30 PM on 09.25.2009   |   Jordan Devore

31 comments

I think I speak for just about everyone on staff when I say how obsessively anxious we are for Borderlands to be released. We have already been assembling potential co-op teams, and you know what? Not only is the game not coming out for a while, but Gearbox has hardly even shown much of Borderlands. It's crazy.

Gearbox president Randy Pitchford send out a lovely message to the gaming press, which you can read in full after the break. In it, he says the footage shown so far is from the level 15 and under areas of Borderlands. Thus far, it's mostly been typical post-apocalyptic wastelands, instead of "snowy mountaintops" or "military installations."

It seems the studio couldn't hold out completely, because they let out the image above. That's the Crimson Lance, the private army of the Atlas Corporation, which Giant Bomb was able to find out through further digging. 

If you're wondering why Gearbox is holding out, this quote from Pitchford should fill you in: "there’s a lot of value in discovery when you’re playing the game and we don’t want to risk diminishing any of that for anyone." As much as I desperately want Borderlands, I think that's the best route for the team to take.

Full message from Randy Pitchford:

So, Borderlands is pretty damn huge.  How huge? We're talking 60+ hours of questing available to the player in just the first play through. But the thing is, all of those screenshots and trailer footage have just been showing the noobie areas of the game. You haven't even met the real bad guys yet in Borderlands; the content past level 15.

What we've been trying really hard to hold things back and not reveal too much and spoil most of the game. Yes, it has been mentioned that Borderlands has other environments in the game like snowy mountain tops and the military installations but we aren't showing it! Remember all of those movie trailers you've seen that give away all the best stuff and the whole damn story before you're even at the theater? Yeah, we think that sucks too.

We are just a few short weeks away from release and we want to assure gamers there is way more to Borderlands. A lot more. So to get that point across here is just a tiny little tease.

Meet the Crimson Lance.