Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says that Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, the fantasy-themed spinoff from the Borderlands series, was “wildly successful” and that it’s reasonable for fans to expect more from the series in the future. Pitchford’s comments echo what he said around the launch of Wonderlands, when he said that Gearbox may well have “a new franchise” in the fantasy series.
“What we demonstrated with the first Wonderlands game was that there’s something there. It was wildly successful and exceeded our expectations,” said Pitchford during an interview with GamesRadar+ during San Diego Comic-Con.
“We had a bigger result with the first Wonderlands game than we did with the first Borderlands game,” he said, “so that’s something we can build on.”
Pitchford was also clear in that both he and the wider studio of Gearbox had a fondness for fantasy, and that given the game’s success, “it’s reasonable for our fans to expect more there.” Pitchford’s comments pretty much reiterate what businesspeople at Take-Two were saying during the launch of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands just a few years ago.
You probably shouldn’t expect any sequel immediately, though: Pitchford did just pretty much confirm that Gearbox’s next game was another entry in the mainline Borderlands series. With Wonderlands being a spinoff in and of itself, though, a pattern may well emerge where a Wonderlands game shows up just after a Borderlands release using the tech pioneered and established in the flagship series.
Gearbox was recently sold by the ailing Embracer Group and is now owned by a former publisher of its games, Take-Two, at the acquisition price of $460 million. The Borderlands franchise, along with Homeworld and Risk of Rain, went along with that sale.
Critics enjoyed Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, giving it decent-to-good reviews, but didn’t rave about it. See PC Gamer’s own 70% review for more on that.