Borderlands boss says fantasy spin-off Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands was “wildly successful,” and because it was so big “it’s reasonable for our fans to expect more there”
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands was a massive success for the Borderlands studio, according to Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford, which means that it’s not unrealistic that fans should “expect more there.”
Speaking to GamesRadar+ during SDCC, Pitchford says that “what we demonstrated with the first Wonderlands game was that there’s something there. It was wildly successful and exceeded our expectations.” Closer to launch, Gearbox suggested that Tiny Tina’s fantasy-shaped spin on the Borderlands formula had “shattered all of our target expectations, both critically and commercially.” That was enough to suggest that the studio had “a new franchise on our hands,” and while it’s been a quiet couple of years since then, it looks like Pitchford is still committing to that.
“We had a bigger result with the first Wonderlands game than we did with the first Borderlands game,” he continued, “so that’s something we can build on.” Discussing both his and Gearbox’s fondness for fantasy, he suggests that the game’s success “[gives] us that kind of place to mess around” when it comes to spin-offs. He finishes by saying that “I think it’s reasonable for our fans to expect more there.”
That’s definitely not a confirmation of a new Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands game, but it’s a pretty positive affirmation about the health of this “new franchise” – especially when combined with the critical and commercial success that the studio outlined in 2022. Regardless, it looks like we might be getting a fourth mainline Borderlands game before a new outing from Tiny Tina – elsewhere, Pitchford said that Gearbox wasn’t planning “to be making people wait for a long time before we announce it” when asked about the possibility of the next Borderlands game. He also suggested that fans will be “very, very happy with the next video game,” and that confidence does seem to suggest that whatever’s next is starting to take shape.