Back in 2014, an established Chinese game development studio called Shanda Interactive Entertainment started work on Borderlands Online, a Chinese-market-only MMO version of the two-games-deep Borderlands series. Gearbox was trying to get a jump on the growing Chinese PC gaming market, clearly, but the game didn't happen: It was cancelled in 2015 when Shanda left game development entirely. All that remains now are some screenshots and (rather weird) trailers.
Now, on a passionate whim, some fans have dug up an ancient build of the game from virus-infested defunct Chinese websites and are hard at work on making a playable version of the long lost Borderlands game. (Which they wouldn't have been able to play if it had been finished, because it wouldn't have been released outside of China.)
In an interview with Eurogamer, project leader EpicNNG explained why they went on their quixotic quest to bring back a 10 year old unreleased game that—by their own admission—probably isn't even very good.
"I am a superfan of this franchise," they said. "I'll do anything I can to get my hands on this kind of thing. I won't stop at Borderlands Online. Borderlands started my addiction to videogames, and wanting to be a developer myself."
So, even though they "don't particularly think the game will be very good," EpicNNG just wants to play it, and hopes that the project "brings people together" during the wait for Borderlands 4's September release.
Reverse-engineering software without its servers, its original developers, or any documentation is no mean feat for even the most skilled developers, though.
"It has been incredibly challenging," said EpicNNG. "If you don't know what you're doing it can feel like trying to escape a maze blindfolded. I eventually reached my skill ceiling, and that realization was tough to accept."
For those interested in the project, you can watch their request for help video on YouTube. You might also be interested in joining the project. They're very clear, for the record, that this is a fan project they don't believe breaches any copyright and that there would be no profit from releasing the build. They were also clear that they're welcoming media attention to the project at this time.
Besides, they found de_dust2 in the files. Which rules.
