With the recent crossover of Captain Jack Sparrow from Disney’sPirates of the CaribbeanjoiningSea of Thieves, it seems only logical for another well-known pirate to also join Rare’s swashbuckling adventure: Captain Scarlett fromBorderlands 2. TheBorderlands 2expansion, entitled Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty, was released in 2012 when theBorderlandsfranchise was at its height, similar to thePirates of the Caribbean. Gearbox is clearly eager to relive this period as seen with its newest upcoming title,Tiny Tina’sWonderlands,which is itself a spin-off of another greatBorderlands 2DLC: Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep.
Not only doesTiny Tina’sWonderlandsprove that Gearbox is more than happy to go through its back catalog, but it also provides an opportunity for Gearbox to expand itsBorderlandsworldbuilding. Not least of all would it be a breath of fresh air from the rather stereotypical portrayal of pirates currently seen inSea of Thieves.
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Old Content, Made New
If the recent announcement ofThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrimbeing re-releasedfor the seventh time doesn’t prove that there is still an incredible appetite for decade-old video games, then nothing will. Gearbox Software, like Bethesda, understands this desire for nostalgia-fueled fun within the gaming community, which is likely why it is releasing a full game, with a loaded cast, all about one ofBorderlands 2’s best DLC.
Gearbox has such well-known and iconic IPs to its name such asDuke Nukem,Brothers in Arms, andBorderlands.The firstBorderlandseven got a recent remaster in the form ofBorderlands: Game of the YearEditionto solid reviews as the studio realized that when games begin to age, they become less and less accessible to a newer audience. Similarly, the exceptional characters, writing, and world-building present inBorderlands 2, and especially its spectacular four story-based DLCs, will also soon be in the same state as the original game unlessGearbox allows theseBorderlandscharacters to appearin other games.
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Borderlands Worldbuilding
Even though the main appeal of theBorderlandsseries is the addicting gameplay and hunt for that next best weapon, there is a ton of lore and major story beats that are worth the player’s attention. Everything from the incredible voice acting, to the quest descriptions, to the characters themselves, makes it difficult to describe any of them in a single sentence; it’s all a lot more complex and serious than the goofy comic book style makes it appear.
Gearbox even made an entire game,Borderlands: The Pre-Sequeldevoted to exploring one of the most complex and interesting characters present inBorderlands 2:Handsome Jack. WhileBorderlands: The Pre-Sequelwas largely more of the same in terms of gameplay (with a few additions), it did mark the first time a player would step foot off Pandora, clearly implying that Gearbox is interested in exploring every facet of this universe.
With no sign of any new mainline games set in theBorderlandsuniverse to expand its lore, Gearbox should consider crossing over in new and popular games as an alternative. It’s no secret that theBorderlandsfranchise has an immense impact on popular culture and the gaming industry as a whole; it has been referenced countless times and itselfreferences many popular shows likeThe OfficeandDoctor Who. Furthermore, the team at Gearbox could easily come up with an in-universe explanation for its characters venturing out into other IPs. In fact, the process of expandingBorderlandscharacters and lore to other game franchises has already begun.
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Why Sea of Thieves for Borderlands?
DespiteSea of Thieves’rocky start, Rare is committed to makingSea of Thievesthe premier pirate game on the market, just as Hello Games have since madeNo Man’s Skythe premier space sandbox game. As part of this continued support,Sea of Thievesannounced its third season of content titled A Pirate’s Life, which sees players crossing paths with one ofthe most iconic modern pirates: Captain Jack Sparrowhimself.
However, this piece of news is overshadowing the most relevant aspect of itsBorderlandsconnection, the Making Mayhem event. This new event allows players to compete and earn an entire ship directly inspired by theBorderlandsfranchise, vault symbols, and everything. Though this may be small in comparison to Captain Jack Sparrow’s appearance, it certainly seems to be hinting towards something larger.
There are clearly not many actual pirates within theBorderlandsfranchise, given that it is set in the far future on an alien world, so the fact that Rare already collaborated with Gearbox for aBorderlandspirate-themed event is intriguing. The most iconic pirate in the franchise is without a doubtCaptain Scarlett from the first DLC inBorderlands 2. She is unapologetically a pirate, embodying all the cliches that people know and love.
However, Captain Scarlett is not as stereotypical as one might initially think, as she outright tells the vault hunters on multiple occasions that she is not to be trusted. She displays and maintains this ironic and unexpected sense of honesty despite her chosen profession of looting and swashbuckling. Alongside the expected humor ofBorderlands,Captain Scarlett is a truly unique portrayal of a future pirate. These aspects, combined with the fact that the community knows precious little about her because she was just in one DLC, make her the perfect choice for Gearbox should it continue down this path of collaboration with Rare forSea of Thieves.
Sea of Thievesis available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
