Home Gaming Steam players have a tantrum over Borderlands 3’s six-month Epic Store exclusivity

Steam players have a tantrum over Borderlands 3’s six-month Epic Store exclusivity

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With the recent announcement that Borderlands 3 will be exclusive to the Epic store on launch, players have been review bombing previous games to do…something?

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Let’s be honest with ourselves here, review bombing…is nothing. It’s nothing! And it always happens when a fanbase doesn’t get what they want so rather than just accepting some news they find unpleasant, they try to get one over on the publishers and developers who worked really hard on the game. This is the case with Borderlands 3 right now, having announced a six month exclusivity deal with the Epic Games Store, fans of the series have taken to the forum to start their revolution by leaving nasty reviews on the older games in the franchise.

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Which most people who enjoy Borderlands already own, so who is this meant to be affecting in any meaningful way? Review bombing has always been, to me, an absurd tantrum thrown by players when they don’t get want they want. It’s a form of protest not exclusive to video games (just look at that whole Captain Marvel nonsense) but at the end of the day, who is looking at those reviews? Borderlands 1 is 10 years old, you think leaving a nasty review will damage its sales at all? The idea that this new round of review bombing will have any effect on 2K’s decision is absurd. I can only hope 2K sees it that way or else the people working their assess off to make the game, Gearbox and all their employees, will be the ones to suffer for a deal they probably had no part in.

People have waited 7 years for this game. Like, if you’ve waited that long for it and you don’t want to support the Epic Games Store, another six months isn’t gonna do you any harm.

Last Updated: April 4, 2019

85 Comments

  1. Craig "Crios" Boonzaier

    April 4, 2019 at 12:22

    I’m looking forward to the game.
    However, i’m just going to wait for the Steam/GoG release, like a Game of the Year version.
    I am just not a fan of the Epic store, data mining and lack of features et al.
    Same way I don’t like uPlay and Origin.
    Some friends have already said they will pirate it, but i don’t think that is fair either.
    Besides, my other libraries have enough games to keep me busy.
    My experience of playing the game on day one versus 6 months later will be the same.

    Reply

    • Yahtzee

      April 4, 2019 at 12:22

      The only thing that’s not ayoba here is the attack on Randy and the dev team. This is 2K the publisher being the stool in the drinking water, not Gearbox.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        April 4, 2019 at 12:22

        I’d say it’s more Epic. BUT, and I can’t say this enough, BL3’s exclusivity was done the right way. Right off the bat we knew where to buy it. It wasn’t a surprise, it wasn’t sudden. Exclusivity works. It’s not the best, sure. And Epic’s store is shit. But neither of things are Gearbox’s fault, and neither of those things warrant the kind of backlash Gearbox are getting.

        Reply

      • Craig "Crios" Boonzaier

        April 4, 2019 at 12:39

        Totally agree with that. People should not have to resort to attacking the people in general.
        However, there is always some vocal minority.
        Though with regards to the exclusivity it is not a surprise, Randy does not seem to like Valve/Steam much anyway, but their own issues and has nothing to do with me.

        Reply

  2. Pariah

    April 4, 2019 at 12:22

    This is something else I don’t understand. Why review bomb? It’s fucking stupid. It’s right up there with “oh I’ll just steal instead.”

    Reply

    • Magoo

      April 4, 2019 at 12:22

      But I was just thinking to myself now, how much do we really know about this? If a big enough portion of gamers will do it, surely it will have some sort of an effect on a big portion of the target audience.

      I wonder how many of the target audience are average, level-headed Joes, and how many are entitled, angry Bobs. We may be surprised by the answer, and in reality, the game needs to be bought by both Joes and Bobs.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        April 4, 2019 at 12:22

        The reality is that BL2 et al are many years old. Review bombing those games does nothing but make the bombers look like total twats. If it was BL3, maybe. But by the time review bombing becomes available for it, it’ll have been out for 6 months on Epic’s store already, and many of those who want to play it will already have bought it and played it, or preordered on Steam. Review bombing is stupid.

        Reply

        • Magoo

          April 4, 2019 at 12:23

          I was just saying that there may be more variables to consider than just the game’s age when it comes to the implications of review bombing.

          Reply

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:23

            There are, sure. But none of those affect Epic. Only Gearbox. And especially in this case where the games getting bombed are old and matter little to the actual people involved.

          • Magoo

            April 4, 2019 at 12:38

            Of course Epic is effected! They have to release the next game in a franchise that is getting a lot of circle-jerking hate!

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:38

            Reviews on Steam exist for people who don’t follow the news. Don’t follow the outrage. Those people will see that BL3 is releasing on Epic, go there, see no reviews, buy the game. On Steam, the people will see that BL3 is releasing, no reviews for that game, buy the game. They won’t see BL3 is releasing on Epic, go to previous games in the series on Steam to check reviews, and decide.

          • Magoo

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            I’m sorry I did not realize people’s actions were so precise and easy to foresee, and with only lateral, immediate consequences.

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            Think about it. Logically, what are reviews on previous games that have sold millions of copies already, already have a fanbase of people who literally love the games, going to do to sales on a different storefront for an unreleased game?

      • Captain JJ

        April 4, 2019 at 12:23

        Yea, review bombing as such a shitty thing to do, but I think gamers are just going to extremes now, trying to voice their disgust with what Epic is doing to pc gaming the only way they know it will be heard and received.
        Even this article proves that it’s working, because it’s getting attention.
        Still a shitty thing to do though.

        Reply

        • Pariah

          April 4, 2019 at 12:23

          The problem I have with this method is that a) bombing the older games achieves nothing and b) the guilty part, Epic, are literally not affected by this in any way, shape or form. So sure, gamers want to express their dislike for Epic, but this isn’t the way. No matter how loud, all they’re doing is burning down a school because their roads aren’t fixed.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ

            April 4, 2019 at 12:23

            Preaching to the choir.
            Totally agree. If anything it’ll hurt Steam sales of those games. But this is the same as those who burn down schools. They don’t know any better, or any other way to get the attention.

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:38

            I mean, the obvious and easy way that hurts nobody but Epic, is to wait 6 months and buy it on Steam. Done and done. Hurts Epic’s pockets. Gearbox gets their revenue. People get their game. And, like Bethesda, the publisher learns that maybe exclusivity isn’t the best choice for their bottom line.

          • Dresden

            April 4, 2019 at 12:55

            It takes about 6 months for new games to start getting decent discounts so I’m happy regardless. If it were longer for, let’s say 2 years or more, I would also start throwing my toys out of the cot.

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:56

            And Randy tweeted that exclusivity only works for short periods anyway. He’s probably well aware that’s how many of us actually feel. There are a fair number of gamers who do wait until the 6 month sales anyway, so it’s not like he’s alienating those people at all.

        • Yahtzee

          April 4, 2019 at 12:23

          So what you are saying is that we had this same type of article twice now since it gets attention.

          https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6f1b791dfe3c906e3c1444065ec6f7d2891e1c5f534cb3b458f19432feb87391.png

          Reply

          • Captain JJ

            April 4, 2019 at 12:38

            Hehe. Pretty much.
            Look, it sucks that Epic is shitting on pc gaming like this, but there are always going to be big dicks who think they can buy everything…and it works more often than not.

            It just becomes a thing of the people then whether they’ll support this kind of behaviour or not. Just like microtransactions, just like shitty unfinished releases, these things happen because there will always be a group of people who just don’t care and will throw money at anyone purely out of FOMO.

  3. Magoo

    April 4, 2019 at 12:22

    “Tantrum” is the right word.

    Glad someone said it.

    Reply

  4. SagatatiaRZA

    April 4, 2019 at 12:23

    Fuck Epic but also how childish to review bomb? In both politics and entertainment people have become so damn touchy. All cancel culture etc etc. Vote with your wallet if that’s how you feel.

    Reply

  5. RinceThis

    April 4, 2019 at 12:38

    • Pariah

      April 4, 2019 at 12:39

      lol this is all kinds of win.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ

        April 4, 2019 at 12:39

        and just one kind of lose

        Reply

        • Yahtzee

          April 4, 2019 at 12:39

          Since he just violated the EU’s article 13

          Reply

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            Memes are in fact allowed

          • Captain JJ

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            I was going to say because it’s Rince, but that’s also fine.

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

          • Captain JJ

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            Is this why you want to stay in Africa?

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            Nope. Here, my work is done…

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            You could still run for president.

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            Vote for me brother, and you can be second in command!

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            Shit, you sure the country could handle 2 gingers in charge?

            You’ll have my vote though, regardless.

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 12:39

            The world needs us!

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            April 4, 2019 at 12:40

            Does it. Does it really.

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 12:55

            Yes. Yes it DOES!

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:55

            We’d do a much better job than the current “leadership” that’s for sure. What’s a little dictatorship between comrades, after all?

          • Dresden

            April 4, 2019 at 12:55

            *little dictator

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            You know who were also little dictators? Napolean and mao, so STFU! Off with his head!

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            Can I be the queen of hearts? Please? Pretty please?

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            deal!

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            Yes!!!! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!

          • Captain JJ

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            Napoleon was between 1.68 and 1.7. Bit of a misconception that he was super short.

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            Well I am 1.69 so perfect!

          • Dresden

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            I heard Russia is an easy country to invade. You should go do that 🙂

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 13:29

            we shall do it right! And invade under the guise of being Trump’s family. They’ll never see it coming!

          • Dresden

            April 4, 2019 at 13:29

            Oooor dress JJ up as Rasputin and let him do the rest!

          • Captain JJ

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            Aha. See! You are the Napoleon we’ve always needed.

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            You can be our PR person! HAHA!

          • Captain JJ

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            Worst choice ever, but thanks.

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            Debatable. He offered me 2nd in command. AND Queen of Hearts.

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

            Fuck I’m actually shorter than you. LOL

          • Dresden

            April 4, 2019 at 13:12

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 13:29

            XD

          • Pariah

            April 4, 2019 at 12:55

            I’M NOT THAT SHORT! SHUDDAP.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            April 4, 2019 at 12:55

            I remain unconvinced.

          • RinceThis

            April 4, 2019 at 12:55

            Pfft, you are an obvious tyrant, we would be benevolent rulers!

      • RinceThis

        April 4, 2019 at 12:39

        haha

        Reply

  6. Craig "Crios" Boonzaier

    April 4, 2019 at 12:39

    On a side note.
    Instead of steam changing their policy on 30% cut.
    They should release the game twice.
    Except the 2nd version of the game is where they only take a 10% cut.
    However, then they remove all the added extras the game gets, Steam Server support, achievements, friends communities and whatever else they provide.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      April 4, 2019 at 12:39

      I saw someone propose that the game costs a bit more on Steam, to make up the difference in revenue split. Gamers would still buy the game, get the extra features on the launcher of their choice, and the publisher & devs lose nothing. Makes sense to me.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ

        April 4, 2019 at 12:39

        I’d pay that difference with a smile. You can either buy a drive-thru burger from “Epic” or sit down in a restaurant and get served your burger in a nice setting where you have everything you need from “Steam”. How’s that for a shitty analogy XD

        Reply

        • Craig "Crios" Boonzaier

          April 4, 2019 at 14:05

          Can confirm, analogy has made me hungry for a decent burger.

          Reply

        • Pariah

          April 4, 2019 at 12:40

          I’d say the analogy is pretty spot on.

          Reply

    • Captain JJ

      April 4, 2019 at 12:39

      Valve is probably already working on a game plan to lean down a bit on their expenses to offer better profit splits. They probably won’t remove functionality, but they might start cleaning up a few things that desperately do need cleaning up.

      They still make an absolute ton of money from the Steam market too, so Epic shouldn’t get the impression that they’re beating Steam at their own game just yet.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        April 4, 2019 at 12:39

        Epic have a long way to go to even start competing. As you said already, exclusivity is their ONLY drawcard. It won’t be enough come 1 year’s time when they said they’d stop.

        Reply

  7. CrAiGiSh

    April 4, 2019 at 12:55

    I’m waiting for it to go on special, so no worries 😀

    Reply

  8. Guz

    April 4, 2019 at 13:12

    • Geoffrey Tim

      April 4, 2019 at 13:30

      The Ouya and souljaboy being in there is just too good.

      Reply

  9. Jacques Van Zyl

    April 4, 2019 at 15:15

    Like I told my brother last night. Use the Epic launcher or don’t.

    I prefer Steam, but I’ll just get this on the Epic store, add the exe to my steam and BAM problem solved.

    Reply

  10. G8crasha

    April 4, 2019 at 15:38

    Reminds me of what we do in sunny SA – burn down our school because we don’t like what a teacher said! So many have used the excuse that, due to the fact that people don’t have any other avenue to receive the attention they want, they become destructive idiots. Newsflash people: just don’t buy the game, and if enough people don’t buy the game, then maybe your message will get through to the publishers.

    Reply

  11. Dutch Matrix

    April 4, 2019 at 12:06

    Gamers are little bitches. Time we face that fact.

    Reply

    • Original Heretic

      April 4, 2019 at 12:22

      That’s a very broad statement to make.
      This whole negative reaction is, once again, a vocal minority. And is exclusively from the PC players.
      I’m a console dude, so this Epic Vs Steam crap doesn’t affect me at all.

      Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        April 4, 2019 at 12:22

        Oh today it is this Borderlands thing. Tomorrow it is the size of some game characters boobs.
        Next week it is about the sexuality of some imagined character.
        And so it goes on and on.

        Reply

        • Original Heretic

          April 4, 2019 at 12:22

          And always from only a few people.

          It’s very seldom that the entire community of gamers ends up uniting against a developer.

          Reply

      • Kenn Gibson

        April 4, 2019 at 12:22

        Exactly I’m Xboning this one.

        Reply

  12. Johann

    April 4, 2019 at 12:07

    Review bombing is a bit stupid yeah. Just boycott the epic store and wait for it to release on steam and then get it That’s my plan, and steam will probably work out cheaper for us as well.

    Reply

  13. Yahtzee

    April 4, 2019 at 12:07

    Opinions.

    Everyone has one 😉

    Reply

    • Dresden

      April 4, 2019 at 13:12

      Yes, but mine is more important than yours!

      Reply

  14. Llama In The Rift

    April 4, 2019 at 12:55

    And folks ask why Red Dead 1 and 2 never got to the PC…or just yet…Bunch of winy P@^#$%S!!

    Reply

  15. WickedMONK3Y

    April 4, 2019 at 17:52

    The tantrum was to be expected. People don’t agree with the practices that epic games are using to get attention to their store. I am not a fan of PC exclusives, except with Origin where its expected as EA will only sell on their own store. So I will be choosing not to buy this game and will wait for it to come to Steam in 2020, I am sure 6 months wont kill me too much. I however do not agree with the “I am going to pirate this game” crowd. There is no excuse for pirating games.

    Reply

  16. G8crasha

    April 4, 2019 at 15:38

    Reminds me of what we do in sunny SA – burn down our school because we don’t like what a teacher said! So many have used the excuse that, due to the fact that people don’t have any other avenue to receive the attention they want, they become destructive idiots. Newsflash people: just don’t buy the game, and if enough people don’t buy the game, then maybe your message will get through to the publishers.

    Reply

  17. Mielies the Magnificent

    April 5, 2019 at 10:29

    I don’t get it. Why not just have a Epic account as well as Steam? Not trolling here, can someone genuinely explain to me why having an Epic account additional to Steam is apparently blasphemy?

    Reply

  18. Mielies the Magnificent

    April 5, 2019 at 10:29

    I don’t get it. Why not just have a Epic account as well as Steam? Not trolling here, can someone genuinely explain to me why having an Epic account additional to Steam is apparently blasphemy?

    Reply

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