Borderlands 3 is coming in a month, and fans of the series are excited to head back to Pandora (and beyond!) for more cel-shaded looting and shooting. PC gamer Borderlands fans are a little less enthused right now, thanks to the sequel being exclusive – for now – to Epic’s Game Store. Now even those who don’t mind the jump to a new launcher have a little less to be excited about. The game won’t feature any pre-loading.
Yes, it’s a limitation of the Epic Games Store, which won’t let those who pre-order the game on that platform have the game downloaded and ready to go on day one. That might disappoint those with slower internet connections who’d taken the day of launch off from work to get as much lootin-n-shootin in as they could.
According to Epic’s Tim Sweeny, the ability to pre-load won’t be available in the game by launch.
Before you moan – rightly or not – about the Epic Store’s lack of features, the public-facing Trello board for the Epic Store confirms that pre-loading is available for third party games – and is a feature that was added in March and implemented back in May this year. Sweeney confirms this, but says it’s “complicated.”
On the one hand, I understand why Epic wouldn’t want to test this feature for a game as big as Borderlands 3, but on the other, it’s piss poor that the store launched without this feature in the first place. It’s all fine and well launching a new digital storefront, but not learning from the challenges more established platforms have had is silly. Still, the thinking – I imagine – is that they’d rather players were able to download the game on release, than struggle with technical issues preventing them from downloading it at all.
No less disappointing, of course, for Pc gamers eager to open a billion chests with semi-randomised guns on launch day.
Last Updated: August 13, 2019
Raptor Rants
August 13, 2019 at 08:55
“Hello Wold!
Here is our new launcher and store. But please don’t expect any established features of other platforms.”
Jokes aside (did ya see my program joke? Your first code always is hello world? So it’s basic!? I’m so funny!), it is weird that a feature like this wasn’t implemented from the start considering it’s an established way of doing things. Most folk don’t have massive line speeds so could take a day or 2 to even get the game to the machine after launch.
It’s a pity really. Steam does need a better competitor, but I just feel Epic are going about it the wrong way. Open competition is healthier than exclusivity and ensuring you have the features that people expect is a must in this industry.
I just thought of something, are Epic buying exclusives like this to cut out Steam because they know they cannot compete on a feature level yet? They know they can’t pre-load massive AAA games or offer all the features other platforms have and so they ensure exclusivity because they know people would rather buy the game on a platform with all the features if given a chance?
Yahtzee
August 13, 2019 at 08:55
Epic… more like Mediocre gaming store
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 13, 2019 at 08:55
“I just thought of something, are Epic buying exclusives like this to cut out Steam because they know they cannot compete on a feature level yet?”
The answer to this question is… duh. 😀
Yahtzee
August 13, 2019 at 08:55
I would pre load a “HAHA” in here but it’s complicated.
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 13, 2019 at 09:04
As long as you have a feature road map it’s all okay.
Yahtzee
August 13, 2019 at 09:04
https://i.imgflip.com/37vwue.jpg
Raptor Rants
August 13, 2019 at 09:04
BOOM
Raptor Rants
August 13, 2019 at 08:55
You… you actually read it all for a change?
I… I think I’m going to cry with joy
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 13, 2019 at 08:55
https://media.giphy.com/media/xlfET7Qli2aDqAzK9v/giphy.gif
Yahtzee
August 13, 2019 at 08:56
I wonder how Cyberpunk is benefiting from all this, since I was not even interested in the game to begin with I did end up taking my BL3 money and pre ordering Cyberpunk. And no, I will not buy BL3 when it releases on steam.
Magoo マグ
August 13, 2019 at 10:43
Did we just be come
best friendsMORTAL ENEMIES?Yahtzee
August 13, 2019 at 10:43
Shut up, you’ll wake the neighbors!
G8crasha
August 13, 2019 at 09:04
You know, this doesn’t phase me. This is definitely not the end of the world for me!
WickedMONK3Y
August 13, 2019 at 10:10
Thanks to the wonders of 200Mbps Fibre I am not so concerned about pre-loads anymore, however I still do not like the way Epic is going about things and will wait for Steam rather.
HvR
August 13, 2019 at 10:28
I grab the free game every 2 weeks from Epic, the kid plays Fortnite and I think I bought one game on their from a special.
Frankly they should stop shovelling cash out to secure exclusives and start expanding the store development team. It has been a year and the store is pretty much in the same “piss-poor” state it started out in.
BS currency pricing, shitty UI and what might come as surprise for the guys thinking that the above does not matter due to having 100+mbps fibre line found a lot of the times their servers can not keep up with demand that I can not even update/download at my full 20mbps line rate.
CrAiGiSh
August 13, 2019 at 08:21
Will wait for the Steam release.
Pariah
August 13, 2019 at 08:29
I’m more excited for the new NMS patch tomorrow lol. Is that weird? It feels weird.
G8crasha
August 13, 2019 at 09:04
I second your excitement! Hello Games is an example of a developer that is committed to their games. I love such developers, and they deserve our support.
Yahtzee
August 13, 2019 at 09:59
Awww yuss, are you going new or old file?
Pariah
August 13, 2019 at 10:43
New file 100%
Pariah
August 13, 2019 at 10:43
And you?
Yahtzee
August 13, 2019 at 13:57
I’m still deciding, my old file is a bit too rich and I am a couple of hops away from where most of the MMO action is going to be. So might jump on the new train as well.
Pariah
August 13, 2019 at 14:07
Yeah fair enough. 🙂 So excited though. YOU CAN RIDE CRABS AND SHIT.
Yahtzee
August 13, 2019 at 08:29
It’s like watching a Jenga game unfold, sooner or later that tower is going to collapse as all the lie’s disappear that’s supporting it.
HairyEwok
August 13, 2019 at 16:30
What’s ironic is GOG Galaxy is actually more of a Steam competitor than Epic Fail’s store, and GOG didn’t even have to buy out developers.
Dr Webster Flexington
August 20, 2019 at 14:02
lol, I’ll pass. In any case, the version that pops onto Steam in a year’s time will probably be the GOTY version with all the goodies.