Gearbox Software's Borderlands series is one of the breakout new franchises of the past console generation, which has led many a fan to speculate when they might get their hands on the inevitable Borderlands 3.

The franchise recently saw the release of a non-Gearbox developed prequel as well as an HD remastered collection of Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but it sounds like it might be a while before fans will be able to play the next installment.

When asked by IGN if a new Borderlands was coming soon, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says "probably not."

"It depends on how you define soon," Pitchford says. "There'll almost certainly be more Borderlands, but we need to figure out what that is. I don't even know if it's Borderlands 3, but yeah. There are people working on Borderlands things for the future at Gearbox but we haven't announced anything yet."

He goes on to say that at such an early stage, it would be "irresponsible" for him to share any more details about the future of the franchise.

"What we call it and what it is are things we care about and we're engaged about but it would be irresponsible to share anything at this stage, because almost certainly anything we're thinking now is going to change between now and when we commit ourselves," he says.

Last year Pitchford said much the same, saying Borderlands 3 wasn't in active development and that the studio didn't yet know what Borderlands 3 would look like.

"When you think of what Borderlands 3 should be, it should be massive," Pitchford said. "It should be bigger and better than Borderlands 2. It should carry forward the story. ... We don't know what [Borderlands 3] is yet. We can imagine what it must achieve, but we don't know what it is yet."

In the meantime, Gearbox fans can check out the developer's new IP Battleborn, a blend of first person shooting action the developer is known for with the MOBA elements seen in titles like League of Legends. Battleborn is slated to release later this year on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

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