Borderlands 3 launched in 2019, so you might not expect an update for the looter shooter in 2024. However, possibly due to the recent release of the (terrible) movie, Gearbox has put out a new, small, but genuinely awesome patch for Borderlands 3.
2019’s Borderlands 3 sold very well and got solid reviews, though it’s sometimes singled out by fans as being the worst entry in the main franchise. Personally, I liked the world-hopping and FPS action of Borderlands 3, though yeah, the main villains aren’t very memorable and the game’s final few hours feel even more like a trainwreck than those of other entries in the franchise famous for never sticking the landing. Still, I’d rather play Borderlands 3 than watch the newly released Borderlands movie, especially after today’s surprise quality of life update.
On August 8, Gearbox announced a new update for Borderlands 3. The update doesn’t add a large quest or a fresh area to explore, but it does add a very useful feature. You can now toggle loot to be auto-sold based on rarity. So, for example, you can say all whites and greens should be sold automatically and when you pick up a random crappy white pistol, the game will sell it instead of letting it clutter up your inventory.
I’m currently replaying Wonderlands with my wife and I’d kill a thousand Skaggs for an auto-sell feature. I hope Gearbox backports this feature into other older Borderlands games. At the very least, this needs to be a feature in Borderlands 4 or whatever the next main game ends up being.
What else is in this Borderlands 3 update?
Also included in this update is the ability for players to create a new max-level character right from the main menu. You’ll need to have beat the main game and hit max level with at least one character before this option will be available, but for folks looking to go back and do endgame content, this will be handy and let them check out other characters without having to replay the entire adventure.
Lastly, Gearbox has added an option for Steam Deck users to increase the in-game text size in Borderlands 3 which isn’t world-changing, but nice to see.
As for why this update was released today, well, I’d say it’s likely because Gearbox is hoping (and expecting) Borderlands 3 and possibly the other games in the series to see an uptick in players and sales following the release of the new movie. We saw something similar with The Last of Us and Fallout.
However, with horrible reviews and bad word of mouth, I’m not sure the Borderlands movie is going to help grow the brand. Likewise, I’m not expecting many people will be hopping back into Pandora over the weekend after seeing the movie. But hey, I’ll take a quality-of-life update for a game I enjoy any day of the week and for any reason.
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