Earlier this week, Borderlands developer Gearbox posted an open invitation to Twitter for what they’re cryptically calling a “Celebration of Togetherness,” which takes place on Tuesday, July 16th. The invitation looks like a cheeky way to announce cross play functionality for the newest entry into the series, Borderlands 3.
The invitation is designed like a wedding invite with red roses and other “fancy” touches like listing the event date in long form very classily as “seven o’clock in the morning pacific time.” Pinkies up! Gearbox asks for likes and shares “in lieu of gifts.”
CEO of Gearbox Randy Pitchford is also participating in playing around with Gearbox and their Celebration of Togetherness, making mysteries tweets of his own. Pitchford, channeling a mother of the bride vibe: “We’d be honored for you to take this moment to celebrate our togetherness and we anticipate that what we have prepared for you can create a shared moment of happiness, joy and wonder.”
The “togetherness” theme and the general air of positivity around this event gives a strong impression that Gearbox will be announcing crossplay for RPG looter-shooter Borderlands 3 on July 16th. Not everyone was thrilled about Borderlands 3 partnering with Epic Games as an exclusive, and it’s hard to imagine anything but “happiness and joy” coming out of potential PC and console crossplay, especially if it allows cooperative crossplay through the game’s campaign.
The demand for crossplay between platforms is growing, but the road there is full of potholes. In recent history Sony has been reluctant to work towards crossplay with other consoles, citing security concerns. The problem of platform separation became more apparent with the rampant success of Epic’s megahit, multi-platform Fortnite, with Fortnite’s Tim Sweeny calling crossplay “inevitable.” Borderlands 3 being an Epic exclusive likely means the company’s philosophy towards crossplay will apply in some way.
While crossplay isn’t guaranteed to be the real purpose of the Celebration of Togetherness, it’s difficult to imagine what else it may be hinting at. Either way, the wedding kitsch is a nice touch and the positive feeling seems sincere. Whatever the announcement is, it’s likely to make fans anticipating this game happy.
There’s been a lot of Borderlands 3 news from this year’s E3, with more details about microtransactions, the endgame experience, as well as community questions and answer session. Be sure to check out mxdwn’s hands-on impressions of Borderlands 3 at E3 2019.
Gearbox Software’s Borderlands 3 is scheduled to release on September 13, 2019 for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.