Borderlands 3 ‘ships 5 million copies in 5 days’

Borderlands 3 shipped more than five million copies within five days of its release, according to publisher 2K.

Becoming the fastest-selling title in 2K history, the loot shooter sold over twice as many copies as Borderlands 2 achieved in the five days following its launch in 2012.

Borderlands 3 released on September 13, 2019 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. On PC, the game is available exclusively through the Epic Games store until April 2020.

2K says the game’s strong early performance helped the Borderlands franchise – which had sold 48 million units worldwide as of June 2019 – surpass $1 billion in net bookings.

Borderlands 3 broke several other records for the publishing label. It was the most pre-ordered game in 2K history, and more than 70 percent of consumers who bought the title during its first five days of availability did so digitally.

Borderlands 3 is also the highest-selling 2K title for a PC game in a five-day window, and “broke pre-order records with the Epic Games Store“.

2K said: “Initial sales of Borderlands 3 have exceeded the label’s expectations and, in particular, PC sales of the title through the Epic Games Store have been incredibly strong.”

Borderlands 3 recorded the biggest physical launch week sales of 2019 in the UK, taking the record from PS4 exclusive Days Gone.

Furthermore, it attracted more concurrent players at launch than any other PC game in Gearbox history, according to studio CEO Randy Pitchford.

Ahead of its release, VGC caught up with Paul Sage, creative director at Gearbox Software, to discuss balancing corporate and community expectations, the dangers of slipping into creative boredom during lengthy development cycles, and the importance of humour to the series, among other topics.

Check out our Borderlands 3 review round-up to see what critics think of the game.