Borderlands 3 fans think they've found the release date in the trailer

The Borderlands "Mask of Mayhem" teaser was filled with references, Easter eggs, and other half-hidden bits of information. Some of it was simple, like images of popular characters that will presumably be back for the new game, but other stuff, including broken-up shift codes, morse code, and even braille, was really well-buried. It was a veritable cornucopia of references. Would we expect any less from the full Borderlands 3 reveal trailer?

We've got a rundown of everything we learned from the trailer here, but one thing that eluded our eyes was caught by redditor Zottelpanda, who has put together a pretty convincing argument that the release date is stashed away in there, too.

Watch the trailer closely and you'll see, at 1:40, a number of tall, neon-lit skyscrapers, one of which bears the number "01." It's right at the very top and the video cuts away to another scene almost as soon as it appears, but it's definitely there. Now skip ahead to 1:52 and there's a different building with the number "10" on it, in the same font.

The conclusion? Borderlands 3 is coming on October 1.

That's thin—very thin, probably nothing—and it could also translate into January 10, 2020, at least in non-US parts of the world. But the October 1 date is much more likely. For one thing, it's right at the start of the holiday quarter, the game-release feeding frenzy that leaves us all exhausted and broke. It's also not too far off of publisher Take-Two's previously-hinted-at (and very wide) release target of FY2019, which runs between October 2018 and September 2019. And, maybe most convincing, the first Borderlands released in October 2009, and releasing Borderlands 3 on the tenth anniversary of the original would be a nice touch.

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford said on Twitter yesterday that the Borderlands 3 launch date will be revealed on April 3, which also suggests that the release is not too far away. Taken altogether, I'd say that as far as fan theories on Reddit go, this is a pretty good one.

Several Redditors have posted images of the relevant frames for those having trouble picking them out (or who just want to get to them without any fuss).