Borderlands 2 region-locked in Russia, players speak out
Steam versions of Borderlands 2 are region-locked to Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Ukraine, Lithuania and Estonia, meaning players with the RU version will be unable to play online with anyone outside of these areas. Many people in these regions pre-ordered Borderlands 2 without receiving any indication that they would get a different version, and on the eve of the game's launch they're taking their case to Reddit, Gearbox and publishers 2K Games and 1C.
Reddit member K900_ has compiled a list of grievances and attempts to solve the issue:
These potential players are unable to pre-load Borderlands 2 and it is unclear if the game will support multiple languages, or if it will only be in Russian. Since many people in countries outside of Russia don't speak Russian, this further complicates the issue. DLC may not work on the RU version of Borderlands 2, as those who pre-ordered the Season Pass are unable to activate it. Players paid full price for the game.
2K Games is in charge of any region-locking and responded to one inquiry with the following message: "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."
Boxed versions of Borderlands 2 appear to not be region-locked, even though they are compatible with Steam.
2K responds to these problems on its own forum, apologizing for not providing region-lock information during the pre-sale and discussing possible refunds:
"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."
