According to Gearbox Software (developers behind the Borderlands franchise), Borderlands 3 wouldn’t be as good as it is right now without the development and reception of Battleborn. The information comes from an interview conducted by Metro with Gearbox Art Director Scott Kester.
One of the questions asked of Scott during the interview was regarding how long it took for Borderlands 3 to be where it is now. He responded saying that they “needed a break” and that the game inevitably wouldn’t be as well done as it is now. He went on to talk about Battleborn and said that without it, the game easily wouldn’t have been “as good as it is”. The game caused Gearbox to think differently on their development process.
To an extent, this statement actually does make sense. It’s no doubt that Battleborn wasn’t exactly regarded as a solid experience. It was riddled with many different issues and this would’ve likely made Gearbox actually do things differently. We won’t know just how good the game is until September, so we’ll have to see how that holds up.
The interview went on to talk about several other topics regarding improvements of BL3’s predecessors. It’s a read that is definitely worth your time. Borderlands 3 will release on the Epic Games Store, PS4, and Xbox One on September 13th, with Stadia and Steam releases later down the line.
