Borderlands 2 Experiencing Region-Lock Issues in Russia

Russian gamers who purchased Borderlands 2 via Steam this week appear to be having a slight issue with online play and access to their content. Russian Steam versions of Gearbox’s highly-rated and hyped sequel are apparently region-locked to Russia, the Common wealth of Independent States, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Estonia, simply meaning that players with this version are unable to play with anyone without that version.

As one might expect, many consumers are upset at the lack of pre-purchase notification on publishers 2K Games and 1C’s end, and have taken their complaints to Reddit in hopes of solving the problem at large.

Reddit member K900_ took the time to compile the list of overall issues with the RU version of Borderlands 2:

Potential players of the RU version of Borderlands 2 are currently unable to pre-load the game. Additionally, there is question as to if the version even supports multiple languages outside of Russian. Given that pretty much no one speaks Russian outside of the homeland, well, you see the problem here.

Additionally, DLC might not even be compatible with the RU version, as players who pre-ordered the Season Pass are currently unable to activate it. Now that, that really sucks, especially following their claims of no prior notification of such a restraint.

Thankfully, albeit sporting very little in the way of a resolution, 2K Games responded to the post:

“All users with a Russian IP address that are attempting to purchase and play the game will be restricted to the RU version of the game. This version of the game will only be compatible with other RU versions of the game, meaning you will only be able to play online with other Russian IP players. We deeply apologize for any and all inconvenience this issue may cause.”

Some users have stated that boxed versions of the game do not suffer these region-lock-related issues, even though they fulfill through the same digital platform, Steam.

2K also responded on their own forum, apologizing and offering up the potential for refunds and cancellations:

“2K Games and 1C are aware that digital distribution pages for the Russian, CIS and Baltic states versions of Borderlands 2 contained incorrect information regarding the language and cross territory compatibility support. We apologize that this information was incorrect during the pre-sale and pre-order period for these territories. We are working with our partners to update those pages, and offer any customers who pre-ordered or pre-purchased the game the opportunity to cancel their order and receive a refund.

Additionally, we are working with our product development teams to investigate potential support for additional languages and options for our customers in these territories. While this was and is not possible for launch, we will provide an update this week on our progress.”

It’s messy, real freaking messy — and it puts a real sappy dent in what could have been a pretty dent-free launch.

[via Reddit]