What you need to know
- Borderlands developer Gearbox Software and publisher 2K Games have revealed Borderlands 4 at Gamescom 2024.
- Announced nearly five years after Borderlands 3's launch in 2019, Borderlands 4 is scheduled to release at some point in 2025, though it doesn't have a specific release date yet.
- Very little is known about the game right now, though it's been confirmed that it will be a looter shooter like previous Borderlands entries.
- Borderlands 4 can be wishlisted now, and is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Steam, the Epic Games Store, and PlayStation 5.
Nearly five years after the release of the last mainline Borderlands entry, Borderlands 3, in 2019, developer Gearbox Software and publisher 2K Games have announced Borderlands 4 at Gamescom 2024. The reveal of the sequel came in a special teaser trailer shown at the start of the convention's Opening Night Live show on Tuesday afternoon.
You can watch the trailer here or view it via the embed below. Notably, like every Borderlands installment before it, Borderlands 4 will release on Xbox, Windows PC, and PlayStation. Specifically, it's coming to Xbox Series X|S and both Steam and the Epic Games Store, along with PlayStation 5. The trailer also highlights that it has a scheduled release window of 2025, though when specifically it's coming next year is unknown at the time of writing.
Borderlands 4 can be wishlisted on its Steam store page now, though fans hopeful to learn more about it from its written description will be disappointed. "The definitive looter shooter arrives in 2025. Wishlist now," it reads. "See if you have what it takes to go down in history as a legendary Vault Hunter as you search for secret alien treasure, blasting everything in sight."
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So, in other words, nothing that we didn't already know about the popular franchise. Still, after the absolute disaster that was the recently released Borderlands movie, I'm sure both Gearbox and series superfans are glad to look ahead to greener pastures.
The trailer itself says equally little about Borderlands 4, though the visual spectacle of a moon crashing into and destroying what seems to be a planetary shield suggests that the scale of this fourth entry will be bigger than anything that's come before it. Each Borderlands game has been more ambitious than the last, with Borderlands 3 taking the series beyond Pandora's orbit and to the wider galaxy.
Borderlands 3 is generally considered to be the best title in the franchise in terms of gunplay, character skills, and loot, though fans and critics alike lambasted its humor and writing. Its parodies of modern day "influencer culture" were widely considered cringe-inducing, so hopefully Gearbox is able to channel some Borderlands 2 energy and put out a better script this time around.
Personally, I'm feeling hopeful about that, especially since the 2022 spinoff Tiny Tina's Wonderlands was excellent (though a little short, compared to the mainline games). Only time will tell if Borderlands 4 delivers, of course, but I'm looking forward to jumping in and finding out next year.
If you've never played Borderlands before, there's never been a better time to jump in. That's because in the aftermath of the Borderlands movie flopping comically hard, all the games are up to 94% off for a limited time, making it incredibly easy to get all of them for cheap. If I had to recommend just one, though, it would be Borderlands 2, as it has great gameplay and fantastic writing both. Ultimately, though, they're all worth playing.
