Borderlands and the controversial art style change

The development of Borderlands is well documented, from the initial concepts with a realistic art style to the drastic last-minute shift to a cel-shaded, cartoonish look. That decision, approved by Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, honored the Gearbox team and helped create one of the most successful game franchises to date.

Original development and art style

Borderlands was originally being developed as a realistic shooter, with launch planned for 2008. At the time, Take-Two was dealing with financial constraints and a declining reputation. The game was nearly finished, but as Zelnick later noted, the quality just wasn’t there. The team came into his office to say the current art style wasn’t distinctive enough and that the game should be remade.

Timeline of key decisions

Financial impact of the change

The decision to change the art style added an extra $50 million in costs. That was a significant amount for a company that was just beginning to recover under Zelnick’s leadership. The added development costs and delay meant the team had to work under a difficult deadline. Zelnick described the decision as “non-obvious” and said nobody else would likely have done it that way.

Historical results of Borderlands

In the end, the rework proved to be a masterstroke, with the franchise since selling more than 100 million copies. Borderlands 2 became one of the best-selling entries with more than 30 million units sold. The changed art style became a defining feature of the Borderlands franchise and helped it stand out from other shooters on the market.

Criticism and the future of the franchise

Although the change was successful, some team members said the decision initially brought stressful times. Graeme Timmins, creative director of Borderlands 4, questioned whether the new direction was feasible and described it as if they had to rebuild everything from scratch. Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox, has also said that while the decision was ultimately correct, the cartoonish art style may have become a later obstacle for the franchise, since not all gamers are open to that kind of visual style.

With Borderlands 4 now on the market, it remains unclear what the franchise’s next steps will be. Borderlands 5 seems like the obvious next move, but Zelnick has admitted that sales did not always meet expectations.