Telltale is about to get very busy! After revealing the platform slate and release plans for their soon-debuting episodic Game of Thrones adventure game, Telltale has now also outlined their plans for another upcoming and soon-debuting game project, Tales from the Borderlands, which was also announced at the Spike VGX Awards broadcast last year, alongside Game of Thrones.
The Telltale/Gearbox collaboration has set the record straight about its timeline in the Borderlands saga, thanks to an all-new gameplay trailer that showcases the first gameplay footage, particularly in how Tales from the Borderlands aims to blend Telltale-style narrative-driven adventuring with the trademark shoot-and-loot action of the prior three Borderlands games. Tales from the Borderlands will officially take place after the events of Borderlands 2, currently placing it at the furthest end of the Borderlands timeline at this point. It will also continue to take place on the usual setting of Pandora, a treasure-rich planet that is full of both bandits and monsters.
Telltale has also confirmed the voice actors voicing the major characters in Tales from the Borderlands, including the two player characters, Rhys and Fiona. Rhys will be voiced by Troy Baker (Saints Row series, BioShock Infinite), while Fiona will be voiced by Laura Bailey (inFamous: Second Son, The Wolf Among Us). Other major characters include Vaughn, voiced by Chris Hardwick (The Legend of Korra), Sasha, voiced by Erin Yvette (The Wolf Among Us), Vasquez, voiced by Patrick Warburton (Family Guy), August, voiced by Nolan North (Uncharted series), and finally, Handsome Jack, who is having his role reprised by Dameon Clarke from Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!.
The first episode of Tales from the Borderlands is called Zer0 Sum, likely in reference to Borderlands 2 protagonist, Zer0, and the overall game will comprise Telltale’s usual batch of five episodes, unlike the six-episode-long Game of Thrones. Telltale claims that this first episode will be available, “Soon”, but didn’t give more solid information. Initially, it was suspected that Tales from the Borderlands might not debut until 2015, particularly with Game of Thrones kicking off before the end of 2014, but now it looks like Telltale does indeed plan to juggle both Game of Thrones and Tales from the Borderlands at the same time.
Finally, Telltale has revealed which platforms Tales from the Borderlands will be released for. The game will initially launch for PC, Mac, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Unfortunately, an iOS version won’t be available at the initial launch, though Telltale does plan to bring Tales from the Borderlands not only to iOS, but also Android devices before the end of 2014. They also claim that other platforms to come will be announced at a later date, creating the possibility that the game may eventually come to platforms like PlayStation Vita or Linux.
Be advised however that, while each individual episode of Tales from the Borderlands will cost $4.99 on all platforms, there are different pricing wrinkles to consider for those wishing to purchase the whole lump offering in advance, depending on their platform of choice. PC and Mac players will pay a slightly pricier $24.99 for the full Season Pass of Tales from the Borderlands, while PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 players will get a slightly discounted $19.99 Season Pass on offer. Strangest of all, Xbox 360 and Xbox One players won’t even get a Season Pass to start. One is apparently being offered later on for just $14.99 on Microsoft’s consoles apparently. Telltale nor Gearbox gave no explanation for this bizarre pricing discrepancy, and didn’t give any potential idea of the Season Pass for iOS and Android at all.
This would seem to indicate that Tales from the Borderlands will be the second Borderlands game to launch in 2014. An all-new interquel offering, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!, which takes place between the events of Borderlands and Borderlands 2 on moons and space stations orbiting Pandora, was released just last month, for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Keep looting Eggplante for all news and updates on Tales from the Borderlands, and other development amongst Telltale’s fellow projects, and the Borderlands game series.