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Borderlands 3 publisher confirms cosmetic microtransactions

Randy Pitchford's somewhat confusing comments have now been clarified

Borderlands 3 Lilith

May 3, 2019 2K has clarified that Borderlands 3 will contain microtransactions, despite some suggestions to the contrary.

Borderlands 3 will contain cosmetic microtransactions, despite confusion on the subject arising from developer Gearbox Studio’s CEO, Randy Pitchford. Comments made during the game’s gameplay reveal earlier this week didn’t make clear whether in-game purchases would be available, but it now seems that that is definitely the case.

During the presentation, Pitchford said that the studio has tried to meet fan expectations around the series, and that “there’s no microtransaction-y, free-to-play kind of stuff.” However, the Gearbox boss also told the audience that “we’ll do some heads and skins and other things,” referencing cosmetics that could be acquired in-game both for free and for real money in Borderlands 2.

We reached out to Gearbox and publisher 2K to clarify exactly what form the game’s purchases would take. In response, they told us that “players will have the option to purchase certain cosmetic items like character, vehicle, and weapon skins, but none of those purchases would be considered pay-to-win or impacting on the gameplay, like weapons or actual gear.”

While that’s fair enough, it reads as a pretty definitive report that the game will have cosmetic microtransactions. I hope that’s cleared things up.

Pitchford’s claim that the game will not include microtransactions came as part of a wider “commitment to what Borderlands is supposed to be,” as he put it. “We’ve made a commitment to the story, style, and design that our fans have told us loud and clear that they cherish and want us to preserve.”

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The Borderlands 3 release date isn’t for another few months, but we’ve already got a look at the full skill trees for both Amara and Zane.

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We’ll likely see plenty more of the game in the run-up to release, as Pitchford said that it’ll appear at E3, Gamescom, and even Destiny’s GuardianCon later this summer.