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Epic Games has confirmed it has partnered with 2K to become the exclusive distributor of Borderlands 3 on PC.
The exclusivity period means the game will only be available on PC via the Epic Game Store until April 2020, after which the highly-anticipated shooter will come to other PC stores, including Steam.
“The PC gaming community has been an important part of the success of the Borderlands series, and we are excited to be partnering with Epic who recognize its worldwide popularity and share in our commitment to bring Borderlands 3 to this rapidly expanding audience,” said 2K president, David Ismailer. “Our mission, in addition to delivering the most engaging and captivating entertainment experiences, is to embrace new distribution platforms that will contribute to our effort to grow the audience for Borderlands 3.”
Borderlands 3 joins a slew of exclusive titles recently announced for Epic Game Store, from partners as wide-ranging as Take-Two’s Private Division, Quantic Dream, Remedy and 505 Games. In a related announcement, and following the success of The Division 2, Ubisoft has committed to launching more new titles, and back catalogue titles, on the store. This will be a continuation of its partnership, where titles are exclusive to UPlay and Epic Game Store. Some of those back catalogue titles have been promised as being part of the free games programme.
The most startling inclusion in the list of true exclusives is the PC releases of Quantic Dream’s last three games: Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human. All are coming to PC for the first time via Epic’s store.
The store is Epic’s newest and most intriguing innovation, though it certainly didn’t appear overnight. “We built the technology long before we had a business model supporting it,” CEO Tim Sweeney recently told MCV. “[Fortnite] accelerated everything by bringing in the large audience of engaged gamers required for a successful storefront launch, and the e-commerce economies of scale for an 88-12 per cent revenue-sharing model.”
“Ubisoft supports our model and trusts us to deliver a smooth journey for players, from pre-purchase to the game’s release,” Sweeney added, reflecting on The Divisions 2’s exclusivity. “But delivery is only half the deal, so is Epic offering financial incentives, above and beyond we’ve worked to ensure it’s genuinely worthwhile for developers to move to the Epic Games store.”
Borderlands 3 will launch on PC via the Epic Store, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on September 13th, 2019.
