Borderlands Online Fan Restoration Is Now Playable in English

Borderlands Online, the free-to-play Borderlands MMO spin-off that only launched in China before shutting down in 2015, is playable again through a fan restoration project. The current release also includes an English translation, making the game accessible to far more players than before.

The project is being led by modder EpicNNG, who put out a call for help in 2025 after a build of the game surfaced. A basic working version appeared a couple of months later, and the latest release is now described as fully playable, with translated text, adjusted UI and HUD elements, and custom-made icons to better fit English character formatting.

EpicNNG says the work went well beyond anything they had handled before, starting with simply getting past the login screen and eventually covering the translation and interface fixes. They also said no generative AI was used to get the game running. According to EpicNNG, the release was originally planned for later in the year, but they decided to push it out sooner because of how quickly AI tools are advancing.

Players should not expect a polished commercial relaunch. EpicNNG is treating this as a playtest and has warned about bugs, server outages, broken skills, and other rough edges. Even with those caveats, more than 3,500 players reportedly joined shortly after the release.

The restoration is not being monetized. EpicNNG says they have heard from various sources that Take-Two is aware of the project, though they have not received anything official. They also said they will stop if asked. Given Borderlands is an active Take-Two and Gearbox property, the project may not stay online indefinitely.