Take-Two CEO Reveals Borderlands' Last-Minute Art Overhaul Cost $50 Million, But Saved the Franchise

The eleventh-hour art style change for Borderlands cost Take-Two an extra $50 million in development and delayed the game by a year, but without it, the now-successful franchise would have flopped immediately. That's according to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, who discussed the decision in a wide-ranging interview about his career. He described approving the last-minute switch as "a non-obvious decision" that no one else would have made, but his trust in the developers paid off with a new hit franchise.

Zelnick explained that Take-Two was in a tough spot after he took over in 2007, with limited capital. Borderlands was originally set for a 2008 release with a realistic art style, but just two months before launch, the division head asked Zelnick to approve a complete overhaul to a cel-shaded, cartoonish look. "We'd spent a lot of money," Zelnick said. "The head of the division came in and said, 'We don't think this is good enough. The art style isn't appropriate or differentiated. We want to remake the game.' That meant $50 million in extra costs and another year of development."

Zelnick initially resisted but ultimately supported the decision after doing his homework. "Had we not done that, Borderlands wouldn't have been a hit," he said. He noted that most executives would have rejected the idea because "it was insane" to spend $50 million remaking a nearly finished game with no guarantee of success. Instead, Zelnick trusted the intuition of Gearbox's developers, who pursued their passion.

The gamble paid off: the looter shooter franchise has sold over 100 million units, with Borderlands 3 becoming 2K's fastest-selling title and Borderlands 2 its top seller at over 30 million copies. However, the switch caused immense stress. Graeme Timmins, creative director of Borderlands 4 and lead level designer on the original, recalled thinking the idea was "f***ing insane." He said the team rebuilt almost all levels from scratch in just a few months, with only Trash Coast and one other level surviving.

In 2019, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford told IGN that while the change was right, the cartoon style limited the franchise's ceiling, as many gamers at the time avoided non-realistic aesthetics. With Borderlands 4 now out and receiving updates, the future of the series is unclear. Borderlands 5 seems likely, but Zelnick has admitted sales haven't met expectations.