Borderlands remake rumors sound like the worst possible version of Destiny

A new rumor doing the rounds claims that Bungie is in talks to do a live-service remake of the first one Borderlands games, and Destiny 2 fans will surely get a little deja vu hearing this. These Borderlands remake rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, but if true, it would be repeating the mistakes Bungie made in Destiny 2s content. Bungie has found itself in a difficult situation recently, and this is unlikely to be rumored Borderlands the project would be the successful Hail Mary the company is looking for.

Just as it has been a difficult time to be one Destiny 2 hell, longtime lovers of Borderlands franchise has had it rough too. Borderlands 4 failed to meet many fans' expectations, and the rough live-action Borderlands movie adaptation that hit theaters the year before was hailed as one of the worst movies of 2024. Bungie, on the other hand, recently faced a significant round of layoffs after ending Destiny 2 updating and continuing to struggle to bump up Marathonnumber of players.

Bungie's Rumored Borderlands Remake is raising eyebrows

The rumor comes from Fate content creator Trance, and it's important to note that the source is “a colleague who works in business development at 2K.” So the source could easily be someone purposefully making up something controversial to simply rock the boat and get people talking. While rumors can always be false, they can also just as easily turn out to be true. A Borderlands game inspired by Destiny 2 would be a surprising turn for Bungie, and that's not even the wildest detail about these rumors.

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Features allegedly under consideration for the rumored Borderlands-meets-Destiny 2 game

• Seasonal paid content will be the lifeblood of the game.

• The game's original Vault Hunters would not be the playable characters. Instead, players would have “semi-customizable” characters to choose from.

• The project's map is rumored to draw inspiration from Borderlands 4s open world design.

A live service looter shooter with Destiny 2seasonal paid content that lacks the original Borderlands Vault Hunters doesn't sound like a remake at all, honestly. It just sounds like a spin-off. There is a chance that the source of this rumor may have misspoke by calling it a remake. A project this big is said to have many companies negotiating with each other to try and make this game happen. In addition to Bungie, Gearbox, Sony and 2K are all in “very early discussions” about making this plan a reality.

So there is always a chance that negotiations could fall through. While this rumor sounds a little outlandish, there's Sony's live service push to consider. The company has been adamant about making its live service plans work, so it wouldn't be too out of left field if such a play were considered. So far, Helldivers 2 and Marathon have been the only Sony live service projects to be successful, and the latter's future remains uncertain. Harmony was shut down after just two weeks, and now canceled games like The last of us onlinea multiplayer God of war spin-off and Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man: The Great Web never crossed the finish line.

Destiny 2's approach to seasonal content marked its demise, and this rumored Borderlands game could quickly meet the same fate

Destiny 2 the ending brought years of fond gaming memories to an end, but the game had struggled to keep players engaged for a while. Bungie's approach to Destiny 2s seasonal content was seen by many as a repetitive punch that turned the game into more of a grind than something actually engaging. Only offering pieces of the story in small breadcrumbs also made it difficult to keep up with the overall lore, making it even more daunting to start as a new player. Vaults of important content, power caps and predictable content cuts simply made for a frustrating and boring experience.

If Bungie uses Destiny 2s seasonal content as a plan for a new Borderlands game, then the same thing will happen with this rumored project. Sure, the seasonal content will probably feel exciting at first, but Bungie has already shown along Destiny 2 that this method can only be engaging for so long. The game will eventually start to feel like more of a chore than something really worth spending time with in the long term.

If Sony and Bungie insist on making a Destiny 2 style game, then the focus should be on Destiny 3

A Fate-style Borderlands The game will more than likely attract a decent number of players initially, but it's not exactly a project that players are actively asking for. Gaming's era of live services is coming to an end, but Sony's insistence on clinging to the genre when its legacy is rooted in some of the best single-player games the industry has seen is deeply frustrating.

Also with Destiny 2 community coming together to host server slams and create online petitions, the news that Bungie may be considering a new live service project similar to the now-defunct game is sure to ignite even more anger. Bungie manufacturing Destiny 3 its next game could have revived the franchise after Destiny 2 remained in its monotonous live-service cycle, but it doesn't look like that will ever happen.

Only time will tell about these Bungie Borderlands remake rumors are true. There's no telling what Bungie's next game is up to Marathonbut turns the first Borderlands game to a live-service looter shooter would ignite a lot of passionate discussion. Bungie needs to do something big to smooth out its relationship with its long-time fan base and a live service Borderlands the game just doesn't sound like it would do the trick.

Released

October 20, 2009

ESRB

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