UPDATE : It seems that the game has entirely disappeared from the site, since it is no longer popping up even on being searched. Gearbox Interactive hasn’t given a statement on this yet, while Epic Games maintains their stance that they “respect Paradox Interactive’s decision to stay away from the sale”, and that Epic would not charge those who already purchased the game any extra amount.
Following the launch of the Epic Mega Sale, a host of titles have been made available on the Epic Store at a large discount of $10 off their price as long as they are $15 or above. Many titles, and even preorders, have been made extremely cheap, being available at prices never imagined before (besides a number of games being made free for players to enjoy). Despite this, it seems there had been a miscommunication between Epic Games and the publishers of the games on their storefront, which prompted a fiasco when Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 was removed from sale on Paradox Interactive’s request. This triggered a verbal war, but the controversy raged on as Borderlands 3 got the same treatment as Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 – quietly being removed from the sale.
For a time, Borderlands 3 was made available at the original price so that players could still buy it at its original price. However, after the fallout, Borderlands 3 seems to have entirely disappeared from the Epic Store, with a big “Coming Soon” on display when the page is accessed.
It seems that Epic Games didn’t announce the sale to the publishers adopting its storefront in advance, but a controversy of this sort, when coupled with the allegations of spyware and lack of security as well as the strategy of making forced exclusives on a platform which never knew nor welcomed the idea will definitely have a fallout which can be difficult to tackle, even more so after the unsavory exchange with Paradox Interactive.