The game is a pre-sequel being developed for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

Apr 7, 2014 09:57 GMT  ·  By

Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox Software, announced a month ago that his studio was not at the time working on a Borderlands sequel, which might have been just a sneaky way to conceal the fact that 2K Australia is actually involved with the development of the next title in the series.

GamePointsNow claims to have gotten its hands on some exclusive information regarding the next installment in the popular first-person shooter with role-playing game elements franchise, revealing that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will be set in the five-year gap between Borderlands 1 and 2.

The action will take place on the H-shaped Hyperion moon base which ominously looms over Pandora, and the game will display Handsome Jack, everyone's favorite villain, back in the days when he was just a programmer hunting for a powerful alien artifact.

Players will be able to select one of future Handsome Jack's lieutenants to play as, between Athena The Gladiator, Wilhelm The Enforcer, Nisha The Lawbringer and Fragtratp, a sort of militarized and less bumbling Claptrap.

The names will surely ring a bell with many fans of the franchise, who will recognize Wilhelm as being the half human and half loader boss from Borderlands 2, and Athena, who made an appearance in the General Knoxx DLC as a Lance Assassin gone rogue. Nisha bears a striking resemblance to the Sheriff of Lynchwood, another Borderlands 2 boss who was also Jack's girlfriend.

Athena, as seen in the General Knoxx DLC
Athena, as seen in the General Knoxx DLC
Athena will be a melee character, able to absorb incoming fire with her kinetic shield while cutting down her foes with her trusty plasma sword, and gamers will get to play as Wilhelm before he was turned into a Badass Loader, making use of his shoulder cannon and calling down drones which will aid him in combat.

Being set on the moon, the game will expand on the bazillion of weapons players will have at their disposal, with two new weapon types, the Laser weapons (which will be a miniature version of the moon laser that the H-shaped moon base unleashes) and Cryo guns, allowing players to freeze and shatter their foes.

Elpis, being a moon and all, has reduced gravity and so launching baddies into orbit with a well-placed grenade will be just one of the many ways to deal with them. Additionally, players will be able to make use of jetpacks in order to get around the moon's surface and outmaneuver opponents.

Oxygen management will play a major role in the game, and players will be able to shatter enemies' helmets in order to instantly deprive them of the precious resource.

The game will be released for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and the lack of a next-gen version points to a prospective 2014 release.

Photo Gallery (2 Images)

Hyperion's ominous moon base
Athena, as seen in the General Knoxx DLC
Open gallery