For several months, Borderlands 3 was one of the games most often associated with Google Stadia, joining the likes of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep and Red Dead Redemption 2 to hype Stadia and its promise of console-free AAA gaming as the way of the future. However, now that the game has finally arrived for it, players are finding that the version they’ve gotten is still stuck in the past.
Starting today, Borderlands 3 is now available on Stadia, introducing Gearbox Software’s latest looter-shooter to a whole new platform’s worth of players, but unfortunately it’s not in its most current state. IGN received confirmation from publisher 2K Games today that BL3’s Stadia launch only includes the updates and patches that were released between the game’s original PC/console launch in September and October 24.
So while the whole of Borderlands 3’s base campaign is still available for streaming players, they’re missing out on additional content like the Takedown at the Maliwan Blacksite or Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, the story DLC arriving on other platforms this Thursday. Furthermore, this omission leaves out plenty of key fixes that have been made to the game in the past two months, such as dedicated loot pools for boss battles, increased storage space in players’ banks, and the Mayhem 4 difficulty level.
As for when this all will be added to the Stadia version, 2K didn’t give an exact date, but did say that the DLC like the Takedown and Moxxi’s Heist will show up sometime in early 2020. Whether the quality-of-life updates will be added at the same time will remain to be seen. At any rate, this serves to remind us of the growing pains Stadia has been experiencing in the past month trying to sell console-free gaming to the masses. No doubt, offering games that are months behind their console versions should show that Stadia is still far from the cloud-based gaming revolution Google was marketing all year.
There is some good news here, though, because Borderlands 3 is being offered at a discount on Stadia right now. To mark the game’s launch on the platform, both its Standard and Deluxe Editions are going for the reduced prices of $38.99 and $51.99, respectively. According to 2K, these deals will last until January 7.
Borderlands 3 is available for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
Source: IGN