As detailed on the Gearbox news blog, a Pandora Rift Zone has appeared on the Fortnite map has been seen, and it’s bringing with it a new in-game event. This new zone will create an aura that will alter the shape and the appearance of the whole area around it. This will cause the influenced area to take on a cell-shaded look, similar to that of Borderlands 3, which is the focus of this new event.
Various in-game elements are also being reskinned to match the Borderlands feel, like the loot chests being remade to look like the loot crates found in the shooter. A new melee weapon, the Psycho Buzz Axe, is coming to the battle royale title as well. There’s even a new cosmetics pack coming to Fortnite too. If Fortnite players buy Borderlands 3 on the Epic Games store, they will receive the Psycho Bundle cosmetic pack for free. This bundle allows players to skin their in-game avatar as a Psycho from the Borderlands franchise.
And yes, Claptrap makes an appearance as a Pet strapped like a backpack to the player, so you’re going to get plenty of his trademark quips and absurd humor.
The goal here is clearly to push the Epic Games Store as a whole, and one of the most popular games ever offers a pretty strong marketing tool. Millions of people play Fortnite, which is free to download, and that alone makes it appealing as a tactic to push Epic in general. Who knows, this might even help redeem some of the soured reputation of the Epic Games Store.
Borderlands 3 will release on September 13th, bringing with it a huge and long-anticipated loot shooter that fans have wanted for years. Check out the event in the preview trailer down below.
