While most of the eager attendees at the recent PAX East Gearbox Studios conference were likely there to catch a glimpse at the latest entry in the Borderlands franchise, Borderlands 3, one of the other big announcements of the day was the upcoming Borderlands tabletop game.
This isn't quite the usual Borderlands fare, but it's interesting to see one of the many directions in which the franchise is evolving. With the announcement of Borderlands VR getting all the existing DLC for the game this summer and the Handsome Collection getting a bunch of graphics quality updates for those who already own it, the Borderlands tabletop game announcement is the icing on the cake for series fans.
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The official website for the Borderlands tabletop game — Tiny Tina's Robot Tea Party — notes that the product was created in collaboration with XYZ Game Labs and Gearbox. This game is apparently based around building your own Claptrap and outfitting them with accessories perfect for the ultimate robot tea party. One of the mechanics appears to involve dumpster diving and using abilities to stop your opponents and their robots from clinching the coveted guest of honor spot by completing their Claptrap first. The game can currently be purchased at the XYZ Game Labs booth on the Pax East show floor (booth #244110), or pre-ordered from the website.
The fact that the Borderlands tabletop game is now available for purchase is pretty impressive, considering that it was announced only a day ago. There's clearly been a lot of effort put into it, and it's been kept under wraps for quite some time so players aren't actually quite sure what to expect in practice outside of what was shown off at the presentation. Card tricks aside, it does truly look like a fun romp into the world of Tiny Tina's mind.
With no official Borderlands 3 release date, it looks like fans are going to have to tide themselves over with this Borderlands tabletop game and the remasters of the existing titles until we learn more about what other products Gearbox has been working on with regards to the series. That being said, the PAX East presentation mentioned that there would be additional information made available on 3 April. There's plenty of time between now and then to have a stellar tea party with Tiny Tina.
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