'Borderlands 4 does have some open-world-like features,' says Gearbox, before clarifying it isn't an open world game 'in the traditional use of that term'

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Last year, in an interview with Gamespot, Gearbox boss and professional amateur magician Randy Pitchford compared the upcoming Borderlands 4 to its predecessor. "With Borderlands 3, with the idea of going to different planets, it was more compartmentalized," he said. "It felt a little less open and free. Borderlands 4 is the most open and free ever".

More recently, Gearbox's senior project producer Anthony Nicholson told GamesRadar that while "Borderlands 4 does have some open-world-like features" including "seamless travel between zones" that doesn't mean we should expect, I dunno, Ubisoft towers or whatever tedious nonsense open world games are full of nowadays. He clarified that, "we did not set out with the intent to create an 'open world game' in the traditional use of that term."