The Gearbox fan-favorite space Western franchise Borderlands hasn’t received a new installment in the flagship series in quite some time. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and New Tales From the Borderlands could only hold fans over for so long, and now they’re eager for Borderlands 4.
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The good news: Borderlands 4 is in active development. Gearbox President Randy Pitchford previously hinted on X that the studio was working on the “big one” in 2021. This was later confirmed in a press release covering Take-Two Interactive’s acquisition of Gearbox in 2024:
We are thrilled to welcome Randy Pitchford and his team of passionate, talented developers to 2K and we look forward to releasing numerous projects in the future as colleagues. We have loved partnering with Gearbox on every iteration of the Borderlands franchise and are excited to be in active development on the next installment in the series.”
David Ismailer, President of 2K
The bad news: there is no official release date at the time of writing. With the Borderlands movie releasing on August 9, 2024, a video game followup would be ideal. If Borderlands 4 were to drop in 2025, it would benefit from capitalizing on renewed interest in the series and less looter-shooter competition, depending on which quarter it releases in. And while that sounds fine and dandy, the reality of the release date is still very much unknown.
While there was only a three-year gap between Borderlands and Borderlands 2, it took another seven years for Borderlands 3 to hit consoles and PCs. Hopefully, the wait for Borderlands 4 won’t be that long. After all, five years have already passed since Borderlands 3’s release. Right now, the best hope comes from Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick, who confirmed the company plans to double down on Borderlands after identifying “many potential growth opportunities” for the series, according to IGN.
What will Borderlands 4 be about?
Borderlands 4’s plot is also a bit of a mystery at this time. It’s possible the story will follow up with Lilith, who—after getting her powers back in Borderlands 3’s conclusion—collided with Elpis to save Pandora after Tyreen’s defeat. The moment of self-sacrifice left more questions than answers for players. Is Lilith really dead? Or is she trapped on Elpis? Ava and Tannis’ dialogue seems to point to the latter, and with Lilith passing the torch to Ava as leader of the Crimson Raiders, it seems Gearbox might be hinting at its next playable character.
There’s also Troy’s introduction as the first male Siren to consider. Borderlands 3 challenged its Siren mythology, opening up new avenues to explore in terms of power acquisition. Likewise, multiple plot threads remain dangling from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Tales From the Borderlands. Could these finally get some closure in Borderlands 4? I sure hope so.