The Borderlands series' "most valuable Shift Code" ever is now available for everyone, all thanks to genius fans cracking a secret code that I'm baffled was solved so fast

(Image credit: Gearbox)

Nothing can get between Borderlands fans and hidden secrets, apparently, because the community has managed to crack a code disguised on an inconspicuous piece of card given out at PAX West for an incredible prize.

As you can see here in a picture shared by Gearbox president Randy Pitchford, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the card in question just had an interesting pattern on it – there's a lone D20 in the center, surrounded by an array of triangles, as well as the numbers '29' and '08.' In case there was any doubt, though, fans were assured otherwise, with the teaser that "we hid a secret code in them…"

Sorry I didn’t have the strength to make the PAX thing today. I definitely did not want to risk causing any harm by showing up. For those that were there, did you keep your dice cards? We hid a secret code in them.. pic.twitter.com/3gE1nGZQ6ZAugust 31, 2024

It took no encouragement at all for the community to dive into action to figure out what was going on, especially when there was initially some speculation that the card could be hiding Borderlands 4's release date – you can understand why given the numbers on there. That wasn't actually the case, although the reality is still exciting, as it turns out that it was actually housing a secret Borderlands 3 Shift code – the series' "most valuable" one ever, to be exact, which is now available for everyone to use thanks to the geniuses who worked it out.

It was Twitter user @40_BaySt who came forward with the discovery that made everything slot into place – it turns out that the card was housing a hidden binary code, which had to be converted twice before actually becoming anything meaningful.

"I think my wife figured it out," @40_BaySt says. "It's a binary code. Up triangles are 1. Down triangles are 0. There are 29 sequences and each sequence is eight digits. Then you convert the binary to decimal and then to ASCII. Upon doing that you get this... SXFBT-39953-J33TT-3T333-KSHW6."

Pitchford was quick to confirm this was the right approach, taking to Twitter to write: "Gratz, everyone! Thanks @40_BaySt's wife, you are all entitled to 50 Golden/Skeleton Keys and 10 Diamond Keys in the Borderlands games via SHiFT code unlocked at PAX West at the Gearbox Main Theater Show." That's a lot of loot to unlock, especially considering the code isn't limited to just one of the games.

With Borderlands 4 now officially announced, here's hoping we might get a few more puzzles like this to bide the time before its release next year.

Be sure to check out our list of the best Borderlands games you can play today.

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I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.