Borderlands 3 will release September 13th!

Gearbox has announced that Borderlands 3 will launch on September 13th. They also release a new trailer that showcased the Vault Hunters’ names and abilities. They also revealed the antagonists’ names: The Calypso Twins. More gameplay details will be showcased on May 1st during Gearbox’s live stream.

Borderlands 3 will be on PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One on Sept. 13. It will also be an Epic Store exclusive until April 2020 for PC players.

The Vault Hunters:

  • Moze as The Gunner: When Moze needs backup, she digistructs her mech – Iron Bear – for a sucker punch of additional firepower.
  • Amara as The Siren: A confident, capable brawler with the ability to summon ethereal fists, Amara uses her Siren powers to smash her enemies.
  • FL4K as The Beastmaster: FL4K lives for the hunt. So do the loyal beasts that follow their master’s every command. Their preferred prey? Unsuspecting bandits, those poor suckers.
  • Zane as The Operative: Specializing in battlefield gadgetry, Zane is extremely proficient at slipping into combat, creating chaos, and sneaking back out as if he were never there

Co-Op

According to the facts sheet, you’ll be able to level up easier with friends regardless of your progress in the story. You’ll still be able to play with anyone online or via split screen. Your loot will also be exclusive to you so no need to argue with friends over specific items.

The Bundles

If you pre-order the game, you’ll get gold-skin guns in the beginning. They have no stat differences.

Borderlands 3 Deluxe Edition ($79.99)
Includes the base game, as well as bonus digital content:

  • Retro Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head & skin, Echo Device skin, weapon skin
  • Neon Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head & skin, Echo Device skin, weapon trinket
  • Gearbox Cosmetic Pack: weapon skin, weapon trinket
  • Toy Box Weapon Pack: 2 Toy guns, Toy grenade mod, weapon trinket
  • XP & Loot Drop Boost Mods

Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition ($99.99)
Includes all the bonus digital content and pre-order bonus of the Deluxe Edition plus the Borderlands 3 season pass, which includes:

  • Four (4) campaign DLC packs featuring new stories, missions, and challenges;
  • Butt Stallion weapon skin, weapon trinket, and grenade mod.

Borderlands 3 Diamond Loot Chest Collector’s Edition ($249.99)
Includes the full game, season pass, and all bonus digital content and pre-order bonus of the Super Deluxe Edition, plus:

  • Diamond Loot Chest Replica
  • Borderlands 3 character figurines (x10) including the four new Vault Hunters, the Calypso Twins, and other characters from the Borderlands universe (approximately 3 inches tall)
  • Sanctuary 3 snap model
  • Vault Key keychains (x4)
  • Cloth galaxy map
  • Character art lithographs (x5): Character prints starring the new Vault Hunters and Calypso Twins
  • Borderlands 3 Steelbook case

PlayStation Store Refund policy update

Sony has recently updated their refund policy for content on the PlayStation 4. Any digital content bought on the store allows buyers to refund anything within 14 days under certain conditions. Your refund is added to your PlayStation wallet balance, regardless of payment method. This means the money will not be refunded back to your credit card.

What are the conditions?

Full games and DLC add ons are eligible for refunds but only if you didn’t start the download, install or stream process. Meaning if you already started playing the game, you can’t return it. However, if the content is “faulty” you could have it refunded whether or not you have played the game.

You can refund pre-ordered games anytime before the official release date or 14 days afterward. Subscription services like PlayStation Plus, Now, and Spotify Premium can also be refunded. Afterward, Sony will deduct a certain amount of the fee based on how much you used the service.

You can’t refund PSN name changes (although the feature isn’t available yet as of the writing of this article).

The service isn’t automated yet unlike Steam or Xbox live. You’ll still have to contact support and request a refund. This can take a while. When I canceled my pre-order of Far Cry 5, it took Sony two weeks to fully refund me after submitting my ticket. Be patient with the process.

This is a good change as Sony had strict return policies before. As more gaming platforms are moving towards digital-focused, having an easier return policy would help players feel more comfortable with making purchases. However, Sony limited player to non-downloaded games makes it annoying. If you played the game and didn’t enjoy, you should still be able to return the game.

Borderlands 3 Trailer & More!

Gearbox just showcased Borderlands 3 at Pax East. While most of the announcements were just people talking about how excited they were to work on the game, the trailer showed a bunch of stuff.

As usual, there are 4 Vault Hunters you can play as in the game. While their names weren’t specified, you can see some of their abilities showcased.

  • There’s a buff female Hunter who has the markings of a Siren and can apparently spawn six massive arms. We see her briefly summoning a giant arm later in the trailer and holding an enemy in a containment bubble.
  • A younger female Hunter appears standing in front of a mech that she can apparently summon. Other players can apparently co-pilot.
  • An older male Hunter apparently uses a gadget that will let him create a holographic version of himself. He may be a character from Tales of the Borderlands
  • An android Beastmaster appears to fight alongside a variety of pets, including a Skag and Spiderant.

Some characters from their previous Borderlands titles will be returning. Brick, Lilith, Mordecai, (Borderlands) Maya, Ellie, Marcus, Tiny Tina (Borderlands 2), Rhys (Tales of the Borderlands) and other returning characters all make cameos.

The two antagonists may be called Troy and Tyreen according to GamesRadar. They could both be Sirens based on their tattoos and eye colours. This may not be true because Sirens have all be females according to the game lore.

The game’s announce date hasn’t been shown but Gearbox has stated they will release more information on April 3rd, the same day Borderlands Remastered is set to release.

I am excited for Borderlands 3. It’s one of my favorite co-operative shooters to play due to its colors, fun environment, and crazy gun types.

Apple Arcade – Apple’s Game Subscriptions for all Apple Devices

Today, Apple has announced its own subscription service called Apple Arcade.Unlike Google Stadia, it will not be a streaming service, but rather access to an exclusive amount of games from the App Store.

Photo from the Announcement

It will be accessible on Apple devices: Macs, Apple TV, iPhones, and iPads. The games on Apple Arcade will be exclusives and the company is helping with development as well. According to Apple, they are working with studios: Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, LEGO, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman and ustwo as its first development partners.

A unique feature is the Family Sharing feature. Once you purchase Apple Arcade, you can share it with your family or who are connected to your phone plan. All the games are playable offline.

Price and how will it compete with Stadia?

There is no Price announced yet but it will be released later this fall. This comes out at around the same time as Stadia. Unlike streaming, the games will all be downloadable on Arcade so you won’t need an internet connection. Arcade will also have exclusive content that is already shown, unlike Stadia which showcased mostly technical capabilities. In a casual market, I believe Arcade will be more popular. The iPhone is still the most popular smartphone on the market and the promise of higher quality games with no ads or in-game purchases are great for parents who are worried that their children are spending too much. Arcade also has Parental Control settings.

However, Stadia looks like it is catering to a gamer-focused market. While mobile is the most popular platform for gaming on a user number, the perks of being able to play triple-A games on any device are appealing to the console/PC market. Stadia also allows you to use any controls from 3rd parties which is much easier to program rather than touch-based controls.

What do you think of Apple Arcade? Will you buy a plan?