New Borderlands 3 Arms Race Mode Is Like "A Totally New Game"

While Gearbox Software has not divulged the details of Borderlands 3's newest game mode as part of its upcoming DLC, the studio has revealed its name and small teases of what players can expect. It doesn't sound like anything we've seen in the series to date.

The new mode is called Arms Race and the point of it is, according to Gearbox, "to make every gun matter in a really interesting way." What exactly the mode is remains unknown, but in an interview with GameSpot, which focused on the first year of Borderlands 3, Gearbox said Arms Race is a standalone mode that will change things up for the looter-shooter.

"Our goal with Arms Race is to make the gun game in our game of millions of guns really matter," said lead level designer Graeme Timmins. "And I can talk about that game mode for hours. I'm so excited about it, but we'll have to wait. I'll say it's got its own environment and just leave it at that."

That sounds like quite the challenge, considering that Timmins isn't exaggerating. The Borderlands series has a ludicrous number of possible weapons.

Company CEO Randy Pitchford echoed Timmins' sentiment, saying Arms Race makes Borderlands 3 feel like "a totally new game."

"I cannot wait until [we can] share more about this, until people can experience it," said Pitchford. "Because it's fricking cool. It's a totally new game. The way it feels to me, when I play it, it's like, 'Holy crap. This changes everything.' And I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

Full details about Arms Race are expected to arrive this month. For the time being, Gearbox made it clear that Arms Race is, at the very least, not a battle royale mode. Instead, it will be something that we really haven't seen before.

Pitchford went on to say that Arms Race may not be for everybody, but the new mode might turn the heads of players dedicated to other games. It could suck players back into Borderlands 3 who have already finished its other content. At least, the other content that's already out.

"So I think some of the folks that maybe are only interested in narrative experiences, we might lose them," Pitchford said. "But the folks that love the RPG loot and love that gear fighting experience, and also maybe folks who play completely different games... I have a feeling some Call of Duty folks are going to turn their head and go, 'Wait a minute. What's this?' Even some battle royale people are going to go, 'That sounds interesting. I want to check that out.' It's not a battle royale game, though. So we're not doing that."

Borderlands 3 scored an 8/10 in GameSpot's review. A next-gen version of the game is planned for PS5 and Xbox Series X.