A raft of unannounced Gearbox games were spotted online over the weekend.
As reported by Eurogamer, a developer who worked at support studio Lost Boys Interactive referenced Borderlands 4, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2, and an unannounced Brothers in Arms game in a now-deleted LinkedIn post. All games were mentioned as being built within Unreal Engine 4.
Lost Boys Interactive is a division of Gearbox, which itself is a part of the embattled Embracer Group. Embracer is currently working through a brutal restructure that has seen mass layoffs, studio closures, and cancelled projects. Embracer is thought to be trying to sell off Gearbox, but, according to IGN sources, it has struggled to find a buyer for the price it’s asking for.
Gearbox has yet to announce Borderlands 4, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2, or a new Brothers in Arms game. IGN has asked the studio for comment.
It’s worth noting that the current purge at Embracer may have resulted in some or all of these projects falling by the wayside. Last week, the Swedish firm confirmed its internal headcount had reduced by 713 people (511 developers and 202 non-developers) so far this year, and its external developer headcount had reduced by 191. In total, 15 mostly unannounced projects were “written down” across Amplifier, Freemode, Gearbox, Plaion, Saber, and THQ Nordic, Embracer said.
While it seems Borderlands 4 will most likely have survived the cull, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland 2 and this new Brothers in Arms game may have been cancelled.
Borderlands 3, which launched in 2019, received a 9/10 from IGN’s review: “Borderlands 3 sticks to its guns and outdoes itself with an amazing arsenal of weapons, humor, and missions.”
Fantasy spinoff Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands got an 8/10: “Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a fantasy-themed Borderlands spin-off that’s hilarious, action-packed, and ridiculous, even if it plays it a bit safe.” Last year, Gearbox's Randy Pitchford said Tiny Tina's Wonderlands had done well enough to kick off a new franchise, with “future experiences already under development.”
The last mainline Brothers in Arms game was 2008’s Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. A fourth game in the WW2 shooter series, Furious 4, was cancelled and eventually turned into ill-fated hero shooter Battleborn. In Furious 4, a character called Montana (who went on to appear in Battleborn) was one of the four Inglourious Basterd-esque heroes tasked with hunting down Nazis. His character was massive and used a huge machine-gun as his weapon.
Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 was announced back at E3 2011. After a mixed reaction to its different tone, Gearbox opted to remove the Brothers in Arms brand from the game and turn it into Battleborn. Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford has over the years said a new Brothers in Arms game was on the way, but it never materialised.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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As reported by Eurogamer, a developer who worked at support studio Lost Boys Interactive referenced Borderlands 4, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2, and an unannounced Brothers in Arms game in a now-deleted LinkedIn post. All games were mentioned as being built within Unreal Engine 4.
Lost Boys Interactive is a division of Gearbox, which itself is a part of the embattled Embracer Group. Embracer is currently working through a brutal restructure that has seen mass layoffs, studio closures, and cancelled projects. Embracer is thought to be trying to sell off Gearbox, but, according to IGN sources, it has struggled to find a buyer for the price it’s asking for.
Gearbox has yet to announce Borderlands 4, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2, or a new Brothers in Arms game. IGN has asked the studio for comment.
It’s worth noting that the current purge at Embracer may have resulted in some or all of these projects falling by the wayside. Last week, the Swedish firm confirmed its internal headcount had reduced by 713 people (511 developers and 202 non-developers) so far this year, and its external developer headcount had reduced by 191. In total, 15 mostly unannounced projects were “written down” across Amplifier, Freemode, Gearbox, Plaion, Saber, and THQ Nordic, Embracer said.
While it seems Borderlands 4 will most likely have survived the cull, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland 2 and this new Brothers in Arms game may have been cancelled.
Borderlands 3, which launched in 2019, received a 9/10 from IGN’s review: “Borderlands 3 sticks to its guns and outdoes itself with an amazing arsenal of weapons, humor, and missions.”
Fantasy spinoff Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands got an 8/10: “Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a fantasy-themed Borderlands spin-off that’s hilarious, action-packed, and ridiculous, even if it plays it a bit safe.” Last year, Gearbox's Randy Pitchford said Tiny Tina's Wonderlands had done well enough to kick off a new franchise, with “future experiences already under development.”
The last mainline Brothers in Arms game was 2008’s Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. A fourth game in the WW2 shooter series, Furious 4, was cancelled and eventually turned into ill-fated hero shooter Battleborn. In Furious 4, a character called Montana (who went on to appear in Battleborn) was one of the four Inglourious Basterd-esque heroes tasked with hunting down Nazis. His character was massive and used a huge machine-gun as his weapon.
Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 was announced back at E3 2011. After a mixed reaction to its different tone, Gearbox opted to remove the Brothers in Arms brand from the game and turn it into Battleborn. Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford has over the years said a new Brothers in Arms game was on the way, but it never materialised.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Continue reading...
