Borderlands 4 Release Confirmed – Everything We Know (so far)

A big question lingered in the Borderlands community for the longest time: whether or not Gearbox Software is working on the next installment of the Borderlands franchise, Borderlands 4. Because Borderlands 3 isn’t getting any post-launch content anymore, and the studio has also finished working on Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and New Tales From the Borderlands. The next logical question is whether Borderlands 4 is in development, and in this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about the next installment of the franchise.

Borderlands 4 Confirmed

Gearbox Software and 2K Games have officially announced the next installment in the Borderlands franchise and confirmed Borderlands 4, on August 20, 2024, by releasing a teaser trailer during Gamescom Opening Night Live.

Borderlands 4 Platforms

Borderlands 4 will be released on all major platforms, meaning: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC (Steam + Epic).

Borderlands 4 will not be available on Nintendo Switch (1), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. By dropping support for those platforms, the next game in the series can evolve as it isn’t restrained to those hardware specs anymore, like Borderlands 3.

Updates

• April 2, 2025: Borderlands 4 announced for Nintendo Switch 2
• August 20, 2024: Borderlands 4 announced for major platforms

Borderlands 4 Release Date

Borderlands 4 will release on September 12, 2025, 2 weeks earlier than initially announced. Randy Pitchford posted on Social Media that the team is knocking it out of the park, and they are confident about the state of the game.

This date is actually close to the “Mon 15” shown in the Borderlands 4 Teaser Trailer, as the first Monday 15th is in September 2025. However, if you look closely at the trailer footage and flip that text, it is actually the WISHLIST NOW text mirrored due to the glitch effect.

Updates

• April 29, 2025: Borderlands 4 is releasing 2 weeks earlier on Sept 12, 2025 (Source)
• Feb 13, 2025: Gearbox Software announced the Borderlands 4 Release Date with a Trailer during Sony’s State of Play.
• Feb 6, 2025: CEO Strauss Zelnick stated during Take-Two’s Fiscal Q3 2025 Report Borderlands 4 will release at “Year End”, the order he mentioned it in suggests it will release after GTA6, however, if the date is still undefined; you would say it at the end but could still not be the last game released.
• Nov 6, 2024: Take Two’s Fiscal Q2 2025 Report states Borderlands 4 is scheduled for Fiscal 2026. Noteworthy is that GTA VI is scheduled for “Fall of calendar 2025” and Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told Variety that they won’t stack BL4 and GTA6 up against each other.

Borderlands 4 Story

Gearbox Software left us with one giant question at the end of Borderlands 3. After the final battle with Tyreen the Destroyer, we see Lilith bravely take flight towards Elpis and slam into the moon, leaving a giant Firehawk symbol engraved into the sky; however, Lilith is nowhere to be found after the explosion.

The Borderlands 4 Teaser Trailer revealed Lilith’s actions as we see that the moon has been teleported across the universe and slams into a planet that has been hidden for ages.

The cataclysmic arrival of Pandora’s moon (Elpis) on the planet Kairos disrupted the perfect order and gave rise to a horde known as the Rippers. This new faction is led by their terrifying Queen, Callis, and they will face down a ruthless dictator known as the Timekeeper and his army of synthetic soldiers, known as The Order. Upon Eplis’ arrival, the Timekeeper locked down the city and sent his Commanders to deal with the fallout firsthand.

By the time the Vault Hunters crash land on Kairos, the planet is a powder keg waiting to explode, and they are arrested and forcibly implanted with a Bolt, a spine-grafted cybernetic device used to dominate the populace, trapping them on Kairos.

Now, the Timekeeper watches over Kairos from the safety of his tower inside an impenetrable fortress city known as Dominion City while his Commanders maintain his Order.

The Timekeeper has a thorough plan that he has been brewing for ages, and the Vault Hunters are annoying distractions he can’t stand. Enter Claptrap, self-proclaimed mastermind behind the Crimson Resistance, who’s set on making the Vault Hunters his newest recruits.

Borderlands 4 Key Takeaways

• STORY:
  • Your Vault Hunter will be the hero in the story and not a bystander like in Borderlands 3.
  • Focus on telling a good story as they did with the Borderlands 3 DLCs and give characters a meaningful role instead of introducing fan-favorite characters for 5 minutes.
  • Focus on new characters over established characters.
  • The Timekeeper is the main antagonist and he operates on a different level than previous villains.
  • New Vault is different from previous Vaults (Yellow instead of Purple)
  • The giant 2-legged Robot Lady from the Trailer is Queen Callis, leader of the Ripper Clan.
  • The Time Keeper’s Army is known as The Order
  • 6 years have passed between the events of BL3 to BL4
• GAMEPLAY:
  • 4 New Playable Vault Hunters that offer new experiences
  • Biggest seamless world in the franchise yet (1 Planet + 1 Moon).
  • Digi-struct Vehicles on the spot at almost any location.
  • New Movement mechanics; Grapple, Glide, Dodge, and Lunge.
  • Improved Boss Battles
  • No Mini-map but a Compass and Combat Radar
• MORE:
  • Cross-Play on all platforms
  • Now renamed BL4 Screenshots hinted at “Ripper Raid” End Game Content
  • Zane, Claptrap, Return
  • Legendary Loot Beams have a rainbow sparkle
  • Borderlands 4 promises a billion weapons

Borderlands 4 Engine

Gearbox Software utilizes the foundations of Unreal Engine 5 to craft Borderlands 4 and enhances EPIC’s engine with their own developed tech to create the unique aesthetic and gameplay systems we all know and love about the franchise.

EPIC Games first revealed UE5 with the trailer shown above,e and seeing that gigantic boss in the tech demo looks promising for the next Borderlands game. A lot of features and enhancements have been added to the engine since then.

Updates

• Dec 20, 2024: Senior Project Producer of Borderlands 4 mentions they crafted Borderlands 4 by utilizing Unreal Engine 5.
• Nov 19, 2023: Former technical director at Lost Boys Interactive listed his Unreal Engine 4 work for BL4 on their LinkedIn.
• May 27, 2021: Randy Pitchford mentioned that the new Unreal Engine 5 is built for a new kind of next-generation Borderlands game.

Gearbox Software’s Road to Borderlands 4

Randy Varnell confirmed during the Borderlands 4 Developer Panel that Gearbox Software has been working on Borderlands 4 since the release of Borderlands 3. This often starts with a small team conceptualizing where they want to go next with the franchise, as the rest of the studio keeps working on DLCs and Patches. More folks are brought onto the team as one project scales up while the other one scales down

Gearbox Entertainment has grown a lot since the Embracer merger in February 2021, as the studio went from 400 to over 1500 employees. The Embracer Group stated in early 2023 that Gearbox Entertainment was set on releasing 8 AAA games by 2026, however, Embracer underwent heavy restructuring after a major deal fell through. Several smaller projects were canceled across their studios, including at Gearbox Software. This way, the studios could focus on the projects that matter.

Halfway through 2023 rumors started that Embracer was willing to sell Gearbox Software and in 2024 a deal was made with Take-Two Interactive. Quickly after the acquisition, a statement was made that the company would double down on the Borderlands franchise.

Randy Pitchford teases Borderlands 4

Randy Pitchford (Founder Gearbox Entertainment) always likes to tease us about the next big thing and if you follow all the breadcrumbs you can piece things together and discover that Borderlands 4 was already in development before the official announcement.

Skills-To-Pay-Bills

He stated on May 6, 2021, that they are working on some amazing stuff and asked for skilled people to help them create the next Borderlands game.

if anyone out there has Skills-To-Pay-Bills and wants to get in on some Borderlands action, we’re working on the big one 🙂

Randy Pitchford – Founder Gearbox Entertainment

Here is my breakdown of Randy’s Tweet because there is some clever wording in it that makes it factually correct. Others might see this as Randy being untruthful but here is why it’s creditable.

Previously, Randy Pitchford referred to Borderlands 3 as the BIG ONE but because that game is already released. The Next Big One is Borderlands 4 as he is on the topic of Borderlands throughout his Tweets.

The Tweet Randy is quoting is about a rumor regarding Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Info was spreading around that Gearbox Software was working on a Borderlands spin-off game.

Factually, Randy’s tweet is correct as he phrases the so-called rumor in a particular way. Yes, it’s true that Gearbox is not assisting or co-developing another Borderlands game. Because they are making the game in-house.

Also, Gearbox Software sees Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands as a new IP and not a spin-off. While the game borrows a lot of elements from Borderlands 3, it also does its own thing and future titles might even push it further from the Borderlands franchise.

But because Gearbox Software sees Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands as a new IP, this also means that getting into some Borderlands action would not refer to Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands.

All in all, this means that Randy Pitchford essentially confirms the next Borderlands game. Yes, Borderlands 4 is in development.

Best thing they ever made

Randy Pitchford talked about Borderlands 4 again while promoting the Borderlands Movie in 2024. He did the same during an IGN interview (Mar 28, 2024), saying they are working on the best thing they ever made. In the GameRader interview, Randy had the following to say.

I haven’t been perfect at hiding the fact that we’re working on many things, and that we’re working on big things, I’m confident that our fans are going to be very, very happy with the next video game project when we are ready to announce it. And I will tell you that we’re not going to be making people wait for a long time before we announce it.

Randy Pitchford (GameRadar Interview: 26 July 2024)

When asked if Gearbox is working on the next mainline Borderlands, Pitchford said, “Of course we are.”

Epic Games Interview (Aug 8, 2024)

FAQ