“`html
“It’s been 84 years…” as the familiar refrain goes in online circles.
Video game enthusiasts can certainly relate, often feeling the extended wait between major releases.
Earlier this month, Silksong, the eagerly awaited sequel to 2017’s Hollow Knight, finally debuted.
And the anticipation for Grand Theft Auto 6 remains a palpable force.
However, the protracted wait for one significant title, Borderlands 4, has concluded, six years following its predecessor’s arrival.
“I’m freaking out. It’s wild,” Randy Pitchford, the head of developer Gearbox, shared with BBC Newsbeat.
Borderlands, somewhat quietly, has emerged as one of the most commercially successful gaming franchises of the past two decades.
Blending first-person shooter mechanics with role-playing elements, the original Borderlands distinguished itself in 2009 through its distinctive cartoonish art style, irreverent humor, and cooperative multiplayer modes.
Players assume the roles of Vault Hunters, tasked with accumulating loot on an alien planet while encountering a diverse cast of eccentric characters and outlandish adversaries.
While the series may not have dominated awards ceremonies, it remains debatable whether that was ever its primary ambition.
Ash Parrish, a journalist for tech website The Verge, told Newsbeat that the game “turns off your brain and turns on the fun.”
“The core ethos in Borderlands is that there’s going to be a lot of shooting and a lot of dumb humour,” she stated.
“That’s sometimes all you want out of a video game.”
This formula has proven successful, with the series selling 94 million copies since its inception, placing it in a similar echelon to franchises like Tomb Raider and games based on the Harry Potter universe.
“It shouldn’t be as successful as it is,” according to studio head Randy Pitchford.
“It should be a super, super-niche thing.”
“We have somehow reached people, which is awesome.”
Success can present both opportunities and challenges within the video game industry. Critical acclaim can translate to strong sales, which in turn facilitate funding for future projects.
However, such praise also creates pressure to surpass previous achievements, and those expectations intensify as the interval between releases expands.
Game development is notoriously intricate, but Pitchford contends that dedicating time to refinement repays the “trust and confidence” earned through previous games.
He also acknowledges the desire to “exceed expectations” with each subsequent installment.
“It’s pretty hard and it takes time. It’s not something we can rush.”
If the game fails to meet expectations, he suggests that fans may lose interest in the series.
However, external factors also play a significant role.
Parrish notes that technological advancements have contributed to longer development cycles.
The current state of the gaming industry, “with lots of firings, studios closing down and games getting cancelled,” is another substantial influence, she asserts.
She highlights that Gearbox itself experienced a period of instability, transitioning to independence before being acquired and subsequently sold to 2K, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto.
“That leads to a lot of churn in terms of your employees,” Parrish explains.
“A lot of the knowledge is stored up in the minds of developers.”
“When you lose employees you lose a lot of wisdom, and any game getting made is like a miracle.”
In some cases, this can effectively signify “starting over” as new personnel familiarize themselves with the project, she adds.
Developers also face pressure from investors with equity in the companies, whose expectations can be exceptionally high, according to Parrish.
“Everything that comes out has to be bigger, better and has to take advantage of all these technologies,” she emphasizes.
“And that takes a lot of time.”
The longer a project takes, the more costly it becomes, potentially affecting returns for investors.
“If that line is not going up as fast as they want it to… then you’re done,” says Parrish. “That’s it.”
Pitchford, perhaps unsurprisingly, offers a more optimistic perspective.
He maintains that emerging technologies have enabled Borderlands to “live up to the ambition we’ve always had,” asserting that the fourth installment “is by far the biggest thing we’ve ever done.”
The latest iteration allows players to navigate an open-world environment with expansive areas, in contrast to the more confined levels of previous games.
“If you look at the moon in the sky – you can get there, seamlessly.”
“Which is kind of astonishing from a technology point of view,” he notes.
Pitchford also stresses that his primary focus remains on game development rather than sales figures or investor sentiments.
“When the games sell, we get to make more,” he explains.
“If the suits are happy with the commercial results then we get more fuel to go deeper down this crazy rabbit hole that we’re in, which is freaking awesome.”
Thus far, the extended development cycle appears to have benefitted Borderlands 4.
The game has garnered positive reviews from critics and emerged as one of the most-played titles on the PC platform Steam within 24 hours of its launch, although some players have reported experiencing bugs and crashes.
Parrish, whose review commended the game for largely maintaining its established formula, wasn’t particularly impressed by the new open-world aspects, but still found much to enjoy.
And in an industry where decade-long waits for sequels are not unheard of, the six-year interval for Borderlands 4 seems comparatively reasonable.
“It’s a long time… but not as long as it could be,” she concludes.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.
The nation’s highest court says the tech firm removed Esperanza Gómez’s account without clear justification.
Fuelled by social media trends and country-pop in the charts, line dancing is enjoying a resurgence.
Fuelled by social media trends and country-pop in the charts, line dancing is enjoying a resurgence.
Young Kashmiris are using social media to preserve language, heritage and identity through storytelling.
Kirk’s loyalty towards the first family put him at the very centre of Donald Trump’s Maga movement.
“`