Borderlands 3 is coming to next-gen consoles with new features

Borderlands 3 release on next-gen consoles shouldn't really be a surprise since the same is happening for most of the relevant games available right now. Developer Gearbox announced it during the PAX Online 2020 that took place yesterday. What indeed was a surprise was the announcement of brand new content and features that the looter-shooter is getting in the future. Not only Borderlands 3 will receive new skill trees and abilities for all of the Vault Hunters, but the game is also getting exclusive gameplay modes.

At some point next year, the game will receive a new paid DLC that is adding a skill tree to each of the playable characters in Borderlands 3. The only one revealed so far is Fl4k's Trapper skill tree, which focuses on shield manipulation and lets the Beastmaster have a Hyperion Loaderbot as a pet. This robotic sidekick comes in three versions, each of them equipped with different weapons. ION Loader shoots exploding projectiles able to create shock novas, WAR Loader comes equipped with an incendiary shotgun, grenades, and homing missiles, and finally, BUL Loader is able to charge enemies and smash them with its shield. Of course, the new skill tree also comes with an active ability, Gravity Snare, which lets the Vault Hunter launch a trap that periodically tosses enemies into the air and slams them into the ground, providing the first form of crowd control for this character.

The second big addition coming to Borderlands 3 comes in the form of splitscreen modes. Three- and four-player splitscreen will be available on the next-gen consoles, as well as vertical splitscreen in two-player co-op mode, which will be also added to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game. Also, as you probably expected already since it's happening for plenty of games, owning Borderlands 3 on current-gen platforms will entitle you to get a free upgrade to the corresponding next-gen version of the game. Of course, you will keep your progression.

We expect to know more about the new skill trees for the other characters in Borderlands 3 in the following weeks, and Gearbox has also promised that we will have news about crossplay for the game next year.