Update: 2K Games has now confirmed that Borderlands 3 will be available for pre-load on the Epic Games Store after all. In a press release, the publisher stated that it was “happy to announce that Borderlands 3 will be available for pre-load roughly 48 hours ahead of the launch date and time listed for your region – yes, that includes PC!”
With a game as long awaited as Borderlands 3, a number of players will likely be wanting to play it as soon as possible by pre-loading it before launch. However, it looks like players on PC will not be able to do so. Epic Games has confirmed that a Borderlands 3 pre-load will not be available on the Epic Games Store.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney revealed the PC version’s lack of pre-loads in a reply to a fan asking about it on Twitter. In his reply, Sweeney stated that the Epic Store wouldn’t have the feature ready for Borderlands 3 in time for its release. This makes it the latest game on the Epic Games Store to not allow pre-loading.
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Gamers have constantly criticized the Epic Games Store for missing out on a number of key features. However, other games, such as The Division 2 have allowed pre-loading on the service. Additionally, the reasons for not having pre-loading seem to differ between releases. For example, Epic’s director of publishing strategy Sergey Galoykin confirmed back in March that Metro Exodus did not have pre-loading at 4A Game’s insistence. This is despite the feature supposedly being available since January.
That said, the fact that the Epic Games Store does support pre-loading does bring in to question why Borderlands 3 won’t have it. As one of the service’s biggest timed exclusives, you’d think Epic would do its best to avoid anything that would bring more criticism towards the store. While there’s likely some sound technical reasons for not having pre-loads, one can’t help but feel that Epic is dropping the ball here.
Will the lack of pre-loading turn fans off from Borderlands 3‘s Epic Games Store release? Or is the title a big enough deal that most won’t mind not being able to play the game immediately at launch? We’ll find out when the game launches non September 13.
