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Borderlands' new corporate owner has big plans for the series and 'Gearbox's catalog' after a $460 million buyout

Take-Two Interactive sees a promising future for the Borderlands franchise, with plans for growth and integration after acquiring developer Gearbox, who's known for the hit spin-off Tiny Tina's Wonderland.

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Take-Two's CEO reckons that there's a big future ahead of Borderlands, the series that popularized looter shooters as we know them with a unicorn that vomits candy-coloured weapons.

GTA and 2K owners Take-Two have published the Borderlands series stretching all the way back to the first game in 2009. Developer Gearbox was then bought up by Embracer Group, along with half the industry, for just over a billion dollars in 2021, before finally being reunited with Take-Two in a $460 million acquisition earlier this year.

Speaking in yesterday's investor call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the company has "all the respect in the world" for the divisive Gearbox founder, Randy Pitchford, and the team. "He has the ability to bring triple-A products to market responsibly and on a very reliable and rather rapid cadence. And he's a hit maker. It's very hard to make a new hit, and Tiny Tina was a new hit," Zelnick continued, referencing the fantasy spin-off Tiny Tina's Wonderland, which exceeded financial expectations and became a "new franchise" for the company.

"We've already identified many potential growth opportunities for the Borderlands series and Gearbox's catalog, which we plan to pursue once the studio is integrated into our organization," Zelnick also said during the call. (Good spot, PC Gamer.)

The Borderlands publisher cryptically announced that one of its "biggest and most beloved franchises" would get a reveal at this year's Summer Game Fest, though the above quotes make it seem like the company is still greenlighting or planning out future Borderlands games, rather than gearing up to release any. Keep all eyes out for Bioshock, then. 

Elsewhere, the Borderlands film is the next "potential growth" opportunity for the series, hitting the big screen on August 9.

*Check out the new games of 2024 to see everything on the horizon. *