Earlier this year, Gearbox made a surprise announcement at its PAX East 2022 showcase with the return of Tales from the Borderlands. Last week, it was leaked that the new game is called New Tales from the Borderlands and is set to come out on October 21, 2022 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Today at Gamescom Opening Night Live, New Tales from the Borderlands was officially revealed and the trailer showcased the new cast of characters players will control.
“[New Tales from the Borderlands] takes place on Promethea, which Borderlands 3 fans will recognize,” Gearbox Software director of production James Lopez told GameSpot. “It takes place about a year after the Maliwan and Children of the Vault invasion and their subsequent war with Atlas–a reconstruction phase.”
The official synopsis of New Tales from the Borderlands is as follows: “Within the perpetually war-torn metropolis of Promethea, you’ll control Anu, Octavio, and Fran on the worst day of their lives. Help these three lovable losers as they endeavor to change the world (and maybe even save it)! Face down a planetary invasion, vicious vault monster, and cold-hearted capitalist in this cinematic thrill ride where what happens next is up to you! Meet a motley cast full of misfits, assassin bots, and talking guns in this race to the top! It’s time to fight back against exploitation and corporate greed. It’s time to make Mayhem your business.”
Dr. Anuradha Dhar (Anu) is an enthusiastic but-tense genius who abhors violence and killing. Despite being prone to panic attacks when things get hectic, Anu always trusts in the power of science to somehow make it all better.
Octavio Wallace-Dhar leaves the booksmarts to his older sister, Anu. Everything he needs to know was picked up on the Promethean streets. Always one to leave a lasting impression, Octavio is his own hype man, complete with a state-of-the-art ECHOdex full of black-market apps and hack-ready functionality. Octavio may not always make the best decisions—or even kinda-passable ones—but his heart is usually in the right place.
Fran Miscowicz is mad. You’d be mad too if some Maliwan jackhole shot a laser through your small business. So yeah, Fran’s got a bone to pick and some anger issues to sort out… but that doesn’t mean she isn’t without sweetness, charm, or a real lust for life. Fran contains multitudes—as does her trusty hoverchair, which is chock full of useful gadgets for both work and survival situations. On Promethea, the two often go hand-in-hand!
“Even though we’re using a familiar background for [New Tales from the Borderlands], it’s a contained story, meaning that whether it’s returning fans or hopefully new fans, it should be pretty easy for people to be onboarded to digest this entirely new cast, new story,” Lopez said. “Most of the characters are going to be new. We do have a few callbacks, a couple of cameos that kind of come up from previous games, including characters from the previous Tales, but, by and large, entirely new cast this time around.”