Since the launch of Gearbox Software’s Borderlands 3 in September 2019, the community has been perplexed by the presence of multiple letters hidden throughout Pandora, usually in difficult-to-reach areas located outside of the game map that require a bit of exploration and some determined climbing and jumping to discover. Finally, the explanation for this easter egg has been revealed.
A few days ago on The Borderlands Show on YouTube, a few of the game's developers discussed new Borderlands 3 content, DLC, and future updates. At one point, viewers were able to ask questions and one player took the opportunity to inquire about the significance of the letters scattered throughout the game. Graeme Timmins, Creative Director at Gearbox, explained that the letters were simply little easter eggs hidden by one of the developers for his children.
Artist Erik Doescher, who assisted with the particular Borderlands 3 locations in which the letters are hidden, had taken the opportunity to place his kids’ initials in secret areas throughout the environment. Doescher has five children, three girls and two boys. The girls’ names all begin with a K and the boys’ names begin with an L. The explanation for the two letter D’s is still uncertain, but they could represent the artist’s last name, one letter each for him and his spouse, or perhaps the family has two pets whose names begin with a D.
All of the hidden Borderlands 3 letters can be found out of bounds, in areas where the HUD’s mini map is black. There are three K’s in the game, one in The Droughts on a shelf, a second on Carnivora in a hidden pit past some rocks, and a third in Lectra City by a shipping container. The two letter L’s can both be found in The Splinterlands, the first at the top of a rock wall beside a giant skeleton and the second at the top of a switchback, over a pile of rocks, and along a path that leads to a clearing. The two D’s are also located on Carnivora, sitting side by side on a couch within a skull at the top of a rock climb.
Timmins stated that, in addition to the hidden letters, there are other similar easter eggs hidden throughout Borderlands 3 because he wanted the members of the development team to feel like they could put their own stamp on the game and embed a bit of their personalities into the environments they worked on.
Borderlands 3 was released in September 2019 and is now available on Google Stadia, Mac, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.