The Borderlands series has always been the loud, messy, over-the-top cousin of the looter-shooter family. For years, it leaned on absurd humor, ridiculous guns, and co-op chaos to stand apart from its peers. But with Borderlands 4, Gearbox isn’t just refining the formula, they’re reinventing it in ways that finally match the scale of their ambition.
Borderlands 4 launches on September 12, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a Nintendo Switch 2 release following on October 3, 2025.
Gone are the planet‑hopping loading screens of past entries. Borderlands 4 launches players into the sprawling, contiguous terrain of Kairo, a world designed for uninterrupted exploration, now possible thanks to Unreal Engine 5 and current-gen hardware.
A World Without Stop Signs
One of the biggest shifts is how you explore. Instead of bouncing between loading screens and tucked‑away maps, Borderlands 4 drops players into Kairos—a single, seamless world that blends exploration and combat like never before. Double jumps, grappling hooks, slides, and customizable vehicles make movement feel as part of the action as firing off a Vladof assault rifle. This is Gearbox catching up to the “dream version” of Borderlands they’ve been talking about for years.
Guns That Actually Feel Different
Loot remains the beating heart of the franchise, but this time, Gearbox avoids the Borderlands 3 trap of quantity over quality. In other words, there is a greater level of weapon variety over sticking to the highest tier available. Back are familiar manufacturers: Jakobs, Maliwan, Vladof, Tediore, with fresh faces like Order, Ripper, and Daedalus adding new flavor. Each brand plays differently enough that you start to think about them as playstyles, not just stat sticks. The Order’s chamber‑loading sniper rifles, for example, feel sharp and unforgettable, something we felt firsthand in our Borderlands 4 preview when tearing through Idolator Sol’s fortress.
But that’s not all, the Ordinance weapon type no longer a limited resource you have to save for crucial moments. They are now cooldown-based and tied to your grenade button. This small, yet significant change allows for more creative destruction at a pace that suits the Vault Hunter that wields it.
Vault Hunters With More Toys Than Ever
The new crew of Vault Hunters each come loaded with three action skills, plus branching augments and capstones that can dramatically alter your build. The Exo Soldier Rafa, for example, blends agile movement with energy-charged melee abilities, making him feel almost like a spacefaring rogue, should you build into that tech branch. You can also choose to spec into ranged attacks, giving yourself the ability to turn into a mobile turret at the press of a button.
Aside from Rafa, there’s also the siren, Vex. Her innate ability to attune her Elemental type to her currently equipped gun makes her a menace to deal with on the battlefield. Speaking of menaces, Amon the Forgeknight wields both axes and shields, acting as the de facto tank of the team. You’ll want him in the front lines with all eyes on him. To round out the group of misfits, we have Harlowe, the Gravatar. She uses technology to freely manipulate gravity to lesser enemies afar like lawn darts.
It’s a subtle but crucial shift. Borderlands has always thrived on mayhem, but now that chaos feels like it belongs to you, not just the game.
Co-Op That Just Works
Borderlands has always been a co-op game at heart, but 4 makes it easier than ever to actually play with friends. Cross-play is seamless, matchmaking feels smoother, and you can even skip the main campaign entirely if you just want to dive into endgame content together. That’s a huge quality-of-life change for veteran players who don’t want to grind through the story again just to unlock the fun stuff.
The biggest change in the multiplayer formula involves giving players the ability to play the game at their personal difficulty level in the same session without drastically affecting the experience of other players in the lobby.
Endgame With Staying Power
Speaking of endgame, Gearbox is going all in this time. The Ultimate Vault Hunter mode scales enemies and difficulty tiers, weekly challenges keep things fresh, and Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine lets you rematch bosses without cheesy save tricks. On top of that, a new Firmware system adds set bonuses that evolve as you level, and account-wide “Specializations” give long-term goals beyond your main character.
It’s clear Gearbox doesn’t want Borderlands 4 to be a one-and-done campaign, they want it to be a platform you’ll return to week after week.
Still Borderlands, Through and Through
For all these new systems and technical leaps, Borderlands 4 hasn’t lost its soul. The series’ signature irreverence, satirical edge, and gleeful chaos are still front and center. Randy Pitchford has been quick to emphasize that they’re not chasing other looter-shooters or trying to fit into a trend—they’re doubling down on what makes Borderlands, well, Borderlands.
And honestly? That’s probably why the changes work. Instead of sanding down the series into something generic, Gearbox is leaning into its weirdness while finally giving the systems the depth and polish fans have been asking for.
Borderlands 4 isn’t just another entry, it feels like a reboot of the entire loot-shooter concept. By blending seamless exploration, smarter loot, deeper customization, and a long-term endgame plan, Gearbox is setting the stage for what could be the most ambitious (and most replayable) Borderlands yet.
It’s still chaotic, still absurd, and still utterly Borderlands but this time, the mayhem feels built to last.
