'Borderlands 3' release date news: Third installment to arrive after 'Bulletstorm' remaster?

"Borderlands" fans have been eagerly anticipating the release of the third main installment in the action role-playing video game franchise for quite some time now. However, other than official confirmation of "Borderlands 3" earlier this year, not much has been revealed about the upcoming game.

It can be recalled that at a PAX East panel last April, Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford teased the existence of "Borderlands 3."

"It's no secret, obviously there's going to be another Borderlands," Pitchford said (via Eurogamer). However, the executive added that it may not be called "Borderlands 3." Scott Kester will serve as the art director while Gearbox chief creative champion Mikey Neumann will be writing the upcoming game.

At that time, Gearbox was still busy promoting its online first-person shooter video game, "Battleborn." Neumann even revealed that "Borderlands 3" Easter eggs would be peppered all over the downloadable content (DLC) for "Battleborn."

Earlier this month, Gearbox hinted that they would be announcing something special during The Game Awards on Dec. 1. With "Battleborn" already released, fans were expecting that Gearbox would finally be able to focus on the development of "Borderlands 3."

Unfortunately, Gearbox introduced a different game at the annual awards ceremony, "Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition." The remastered version of the 2011 first-person shooter video game will be released on April 7, 2017. According to reports, "Borderlands 3" is likely to be the next focus of Gearbox.

While fans are understandably disappointed, they can take comfort in the fact that Gearbox is still paying attention to the video game franchise. A couple of weeks ago, the developer released SHiFT codes for five Golden Keys that will unlock new loot in "Borderlands 2."

The codes are WB5BB-WXKHB-TFBXW-BJJJ3-K35KX for PC and Mac, WTWJ3-RTWRC-R9RXH-5X3BT-3SWC9 for Xbox consoles, and 5T533-JF96Z-XBCSC-H3WBT-ZHBCZ for PlayStation systems. The codes will be available until Dec. 19.

Meanwhile, PlayStation 4 players who have yet to try the "Borderlands" franchise can take advantage of the current discount for the "Borderlands: The Handsome Collection" on the PlayStation Store. Instead of $59.99, customers can get both "Borderlands 2" and "Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel" for just $25.79. The offer is available until Dec. 14.

Even though Gearbox has yet to make an official announcement, "Borderlands 3" is expected to arrive sometime in late 2017 or early 2018.