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Borderlands 3 has secured twice as many players on PC as Borderlands 2 did at launch and has shown the ‘best numbers in Gearbox history’, according to tweets posted by Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford.
Fun Fact: On PC, the data is that the launch day peak concurrent players of Borderlands 3 is about *twice-as-high* as the all time peak concurrent players of Borderlands 2. WOW! You guys are great!
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) September 13, 2019
Borderlands 3 is a timed-exclusive on the Epic Games store until April 2020; an announcement that initially soured some gamers’ enthusiasm and excitement for the third installment of the looter-shooter. But, in spite of the naysayers, it seems that Borderlands 3 is doing very well out of it. Pitchford followed up with, ‘Incredible day with new peak concurrency (and climbing). Best numbers in Gearbox history!’
Incredible day with new peak concurrency (and climbing). Best numbers in Gearbox history! No promises, but we *might* be ready for me to try a SHiFT code test with the Golden Key system tomorrow. If we do, it will probably be a time-limited key. SHiFT team are god tier right now!
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) September 14, 2019
This claim is only based on statistics from PCs, however, and calculations have not begun on the console camp of Borderlands 3 players. We could make a stab at just how many people were playing the shlooter at its peak concurrency. According to SteamCharts, Borderlands 2 peaked at 123,596 players; SteamDB says the previous game achieved a peak concurrent user count of 124,678 players. Let’s say 124,000 for easy numbers. As Borderlands 3 has secured twice as many players on PC as Borderlands 2 did, that would spit out an estimate of about 248,000 players.
Three may be a magic number, but we’re headed for a Borderlands bonanza in the foreseeable future. Borderlands 3 lead writers said that this ‘definitely isn’t the end of Borderlands in any way’, and teased that Borderlands 4 could happen. Before that, though, there’s plenty of endgame content to test players’ skills such as the classic Circle of Slaughter and the new Proving Grounds. And, just like Borderlands 2, this game will receive bizarre, genre-bending DLC à la Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep and Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day Massacre.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
