laptastic Voyage[edit]

The Claptastic Voyage story add-on continues shortly after Handsome Jack's takeover of Hyperion,
as he discovers a secret program called the H-Source, containing all of Hyperion's secrets.
However, it was hidden inside the "Fragtrap" unit by Tassiter. Jack employs his Vault Hunters once
more to be digitally scanned and sent into Claptrap's mind in order to retrieve the H-Source. In the
process, the Vault Hunters are tricked into releasing 5H4D0W-TP, a subroutine representing
Claptrap's inner evil side, who attempts to use the H-Source for his own gains. As the group pursues
5H4D0W-TP, they delve deeper into Claptrap's mind, learning of his origin and the reasons for his
quirky behavior. Eventually, the group defeats 5H4D0W-TP and retrieve the H-Source for Jack. Jack
reveals his plan to use the H-Source to wipe out all existing CL4P-TP units, including Claptrap
himself. All CL4P-TP units are disabled and dumped in Windshear Waste; however, 5H4D0W-TP,
who still remains alive within Claptrap, sacrifices himself to revive Claptrap, allowing him to be found
and saved by Sir Hammerlock.

Development[edit]

Elpis, the moon of Pandora, was visible in Borderlands 2, and became a playable location in The Pre-Sequel.

Borderlands 2, developed by Gearbox Software and released in late 2012, was one of the most
successful video games in 2K's history. Speaking in February 2013, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford
stated that there were no plans for a third installment in the franchise, as the company believed that
a sequel to Borderlands 2 would have to be "massive", but that "when you think of what Borderlands
3 should be... No, we don't know what that is yet. We can imagine what it must achieve, but we don't
know what it is yet". The company also cited a desire to focus its attention onto new games for next-
generation consoles, such as Brothers in Arms: Furious Four, Homeworld: Shipbreakers (a new
game in the Homeworld franchise, which Gearbox had recently acquired in THQ's bankruptcy
auction), and new properties such as Battleborn.[14] Despite this, the company still believed that they
had not yet met the demands of fans, or even its own staff, in regards to the franchise (even with the
overall success of Borderlands 2 and the large amount of downloadable content that had been
released), prompting the creation of spin-offs such as Tales from the Borderlands, an
episodic adventure game being developed by Telltale Games, and a port of Borderlands
2 for PlayStation Vita.[4][15][16]
A few months after the release of Borderlands 2 (and shortly after it had concluded its contributions
to BioShock Infinite), Gearbox began working with 2K Australia to develop a prequel to the game
which would take place directly after the events of the original. The decision to make the game a
prequel to Borderlands 2 was centered around a desire to use the Hyperion moonbase (a location
alluded to, and visible in Borderlands 2) as a playable location; the development team felt that going
to the moonbase in a sequel to Borderlands 2 would be too "boring" for players since the relevant
conflict was already resolved, and because "if we're going to go to the moonbase anyway, what if we
try something completely different that people aren't expecting[?]". Pitchford noted that this setting
would allow the game to address plot elements and events alluded to in the first two games that
were not yet completely addressed—on the possibility that the game could introduce holes in the
continuity of the franchise, he joked that the franchise already contained many plot holes to begin
with.[4][5][17] He suggested that working on The Pre-Sequel could be a breakout role for 2K Australia,
similar to Gearbox's own Half-Life: Opposing Force.[4] As for the size of the game, Pitchford stated
that The Pre-Sequel's playable world would be in between the size of the original and Borderlands 2.
[18]

2K Australia performed the majority of development on The Pre-Sequel, but worked in collaboration
with Gearbox on certain aspects of the game. The studio also provided its writing staff—
including Anthony Burch, lead writer of Borderlands 2—as a complement to 2K Australia's own
writers. The engine of Borderlands 2 was used as a starting point, allowing the 2K Australia team to
quickly prototype and implement features on top of the existing functionality already provided
by Borderlands 2. Most of the new mechanics in the game, such as ice weaponry, were conceived
by the 2K Australia team;[5][19] Gearbox's developers had shown concerns that freezing weapons were
illogical in comparison to the other elemental weapon types, such as incendiary and acid, but
Pitchford excused their inclusion in The Pre-Sequel because cryogenic technology was more
"natural" in the space-oriented setting of the game. [17]
The four playable characters have an increased amount of dialogue in comparison to their
equivalents in previous instalments; NPC dialogue can change depending on the characters present.
[20]
 Developers also felt that The Pre-Sequel would have more diverse humour than previous
installments due to the makeup of its writing staff, and a decision to portray the Moon's inhabitants
as being Australians themselves, allowing for references to Australian comedy and culture, including
missions referencing cricket, the folk song "Waltzing Matilda", and a talking shotgun based upon
the bogan stereotype.[4][5][21] Bruce Spence, a New Zealand actor known for his role as the Gyro
Captain in Mad Max 2 (the second film in the Mad Max franchise that was cited as an influence on
the setting of Borderlands as a whole), is among the game's voice actors–voicing a gyrocopter pilot
in reference to his role from the film. [17]
The Pre-Sequel would be the final video game developed by 2K Australia, as the studio was shut
down on 16 April 2015.[22]