Borderlands 4 is likely one of the best-looking upcoming house video games of 2025. It’d even make us neglect how godawful the Borderlands film was. Perhaps. With a launch date locked in and loads of particulars floating in orbit, here is the inside track on Borderlands 4 thus far.
Leaving Pandora behind, the fourth mainline Borderlands recreation is shifting the motion to the all-new planet of Kairos. After Borderlands 3 and the spinoff New Tales from the Borderlands left followers underwhelmed, that is the massive shake-up that the long-running RPG collection wanted.
Developer Gearbox is conserving most story particulars hidden away in a vault, however chances are high we’ll be studying extra concerning the recreation’s fundamental baddie and the numerous risks that await the ‘vault hunters’ sooner reasonably than later. On the gameplay entrance, we all know that issues are staying principally acquainted, though each fight and motion seem to have been leveled up. Total, Borderlands 4 is wanting fiercer and extra relentless than something we have skilled earlier than within the gun-and-loot collection and we’re right here for it.
The brand new Borderlands recreation shouldn’t be the one main sci-fi title releasing this yr: Metroid Prime 4 must be one in all Nintendo’s hottest 2025 launches, Directive 8020 appears good for the Halloween season, and RPG lovers can get excited for Exodus and The Outer Worlds 2.
What’s the Borderlands 4 launch date?
After a lot hypothesis, writer 2K and developer Gearbox confirmed earlier this yr that Borderlands 4 is ready to launch on September 23, 2025.
That does not go away newcomers with an curiosity within the collection’ historical past and universe with numerous time to burn by all of the Borderlands video games, however veterans will have a good time that the wait is sort of over.
What platforms will Borderlands 4 be obtainable on?
Borderlands 4 will launch on Xbox Collection X/S, PC (Epic & Steam), and PS5.
To the shock of nobody, last-gen consoles have been left behind, permitting the builders of Borderlands 4 to work on and apply larger improvements past graphical constancy. We’ve not seen how the world of Kairos comes collectively in uncut gameplay, however we count on that the change to beefier base {hardware} will have an effect on the complexity of the extent design and the navigation potentialities (in addition to the potential carnage), amongst different issues.
Borderlands 4 Trailers
Surprisingly, barely something leaked earlier than Gearbox and 2K have been able to reveal that Borderlands 4 was coming and the official teaser trailer did not seem till August 20, 2024. It was a really cinematic and intriguing first look that made us query for a scorching second if the collection’ signature cel-shaded aesthetic was being dropped (fortunately, it wasn’t). You may watch it beneath:
Only some months later, on December 13, 2024, we have been launched to the 4 new vault hunters in addition to loads of menacing enemies. It additionally gave us our first have a look at lots of the locales we’ll be visiting come September. Meet them right here:
On February 12, 2025, a brief however explosive gameplay trailer dropped. This put the main target again on the moment-to-moment gameplay with weapons, skills, and sick strikes that spotlight how briskly and livid Borderlands 4 is in comparison with earlier entries. Watch it right here:
What’s the plot of Borderlands 4?
Spoilers for Borderlands 3 forward.
Borderlands 3, as uneven as its writing was, ended on a excessive notice and left a few good cliffhangers ready to be picked up by the fourquel: Lilith sacrificed herself as a way to save Pandora from being destroyed by its moon, Elpis, after the villains Tyreen and Troy Calypso realized the celestial physique was the literal key to opening the Nice Vault that’s Pandora itself. We’ll spare you the main points, however it’s unclear whether or not Lilith survived or not. What we all know for positive is that she teleported Elpis away from Pandora and to a wholly completely different system.
The teaser trailer revealed the place Pandora’s moon ended up: proper subsequent to Kairos, which 2K and Gearbox describe as “the most dangerous planet” in the Borderlands universe (in fact). That is dangerous information for Kairos’ inhabitants, however it appears they already had issues on their palms with The Timekeeper, “a ruthless dictator” who runs the planet with an iron fist. Enter the brand new crew of vault hunters. Does Kairos also have a vault of its personal? We will not wait to seek out out.
As Gearbox prepares for the sport’s launch in September 2025, there is a good likelihood a lot of the plot and the protagonists might be revealed step by step. Borderlands video games usually aren’t shy nor secretive throughout their advertising campaigns, so we’re anticipating nearly all of the playing cards to be laid out on the desk effectively forward of the discharge.
What kind of recreation is Borderlands 4?
Borderlands 4 is sticking to the signature first-person action-RPG nature of the earlier installments and might be burying us in colourful loot as soon as once more. The principle distinction when in comparison with different well-known action-RPG collection is that Borderlands video games put endless, brutal shootouts entrance and middle. Degree up, seize higher weapons, struggle larger enemies. Rinse and repeat. You understand the drill.
There is a enjoyable narrative and strong world-building holding all of it collectively, however it’s finally all concerning the speedy enjoyable issue with imaginative weapons, fantasy-like skills, and class-based development harking back to video games like Diablo. Press releases have been hyping up Borderlands 4’s all-new construct potentialities and expanded ‘loot chase’, so it seems the creatives doubled down on the collection’ strengths and are spicing issues up. Environments and traversal are additionally evolving, seemingly encouraging exploration in a much bigger approach than ever earlier than.
On the time of writing, the store pages for the sport have additionally confirmed that native split-screen play for 2 gamers is again alongside four-player on-line co-op. On this age of native co-op being left behind, it is nice to listen to Borderlands 4 might be retaining this staple. It additionally appears as if an MMO construction like Future or Warframe’s is not on the playing cards for Borderlands anytime quickly.
