Borderlands 4: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more

By Jesse Lennox Updated September 7, 2025

If it weren’t for the original Borderlands, the looter-shooter genre wouldn’t exist as we know it today. This hybrid RPG/first-person shooter from Gearbox not only introduced us to the wild and wacky world of Pandora and Vault Hunters, but also to the addictive loop of grinding for endless amounts of guns. The sequel was even better, perhaps one of the best video games of all time for some, but the third was a mixed bag. It managed to keep people playing thanks to plenty of DLC and being a great cross-platform game for co-op, especially since it will be on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and even Switch 2.

Borderlands 4 would be the next logical place to go, and that’s what all the rumors and hints are suggesting. Whether the idea of reuniting with Claptrap fills you with joy or dread, here’s everything we know about this upcoming video game.

STOP SCROLLING! We’re trying to make the news cycle!!!

Borderlands 4 has a 💥 NEW RELEASE DATE 💥 Sep. 12, 2025! https://t.co/Xy0JMcz5X1 pic.twitter.com/iewKcAPpKb

— Borderlands (@Borderlands) April 29, 2025

The Borderlands 4 release date was first confirmed during the February State of Play as September 23, 2025. However, the official X account made an update on the game’s release that stated the game would be coming even earlier than expected.

Borderlands 4 is now set to arrive on September 12, with the Switch 2 version coming a few weeks later on October 3.

Borderlands 4 is currently confirmed for current-gen consoles only. That includes the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. A pleasent surprise is that it is also coming to the Nintendo Switch 2.

The first teaser for Borderlands 4 was the surprise announcement that kicked off Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024. In it, we see a symbol those who beat Borderlands 3 will recognize as the Firehawk emblem before the moon of Elpis appears. A mysterious rift then opens up to another unknown world where meteors start raining down. In the crater of one, a robotic hand reaches out and pulls out an iconic Psycho mask.

The only other detail we get from the official site states that Borderlands 4 will pick up directly where the last game left off, with Lilith managing to teleport Pandora’s moon somewhere else in space before it could crash into the planet. This game appears to show the aftermath of that event.

Randy Pitchford himself showed up at The Game Awards 2024 to give us a fresh trailer and first look at the gameplay for Borderlands 4. The only small plot details we got are that the game will take place on a new planet called Kairos and be centered around a new crew of Vault Hunters facing off against a dictator only known as Timekeeper. The theme appears to be about resistance and breaking free from their rule, but odds are the plot won’t be a heavy focus if previous games are anything to go by.

The launch date trailer from the State of Play was more of a teaser than anything else.

The four new Vault Hunters are Vex, the Siren, Rafa, the Exo-Soldier, Harlow, the Gravitar, and Amon, the Forgeknight. You can check out a brief bio on each character’s background on the official game info page, but we didn’t see anything particularly revelatory there beyond some cool lore and base motivations.

More new details include the history of Kairos. The Timekeeper has kept this world under his rule for thousands of years before a moon teleported into its orbit and broke its camouflage. This has led to a resistance group rising up to challenge the Timekeeper. The few familiar faces we know will be back include Claptrap, Moxxi, and Zane but expect many more.

The small clips of gameplay we saw at The Game Awards 2024 did show us a lot of what we expected: shooting, explosions, and crazy enemies. An expected, but important confirmation was that the game could be played completely solo or in co-op with three of your friends. There will also be a new grappling mechanic we see just once. It’s unclear if this can be used anywhere in the environment or only on specific points. We got a lot more answers during the State of Play Deep Dive.

This 20-minute showcase has a lot packed into it, so we highly recommend watching it in full, but these were our key takeaways.

The big new change to weapons from previous games is the ability for guns to spawn with parts from multiple manufacturers for an even greater range of permutations. There will be eight manufacturers this time around, consisting of Daedalus, Tediore, Meliwan, Jakobs, Vladof, Rogue, and the two new ones being Order and Ripper.

Vehicles have always been a part of the Borderlands 4 experience, and this time you will be cruising around in the new Digirunner. You will be free to kit this hovercraft out however you want from cosmetics to stats.

We always love playing these games in co-op, but even if you don’t have a friend to play with you will still have your Echo-4 robot buddy by your side. He can show you to your next objective, upgrade your ammo capacity, and alter your character’s appearance on the fly.

World events will appear dynamically, but offer better rewards than just XP or new weapons. Completing Silo missions, for example, will show you the location of a Vault Key Fragment. Find enough and you can unlock a special high level dungeon. I was able to speak directly to Borderlands 4‘s Associate Creative Director all about world events. Check out the full interview for all the details, but know that a lot of work has been done to craft multiple layers of world events with an entire system built to keep them exciting and fresh.

I also previewed one of the game’s early missions and boss fights. Again, please read the article for a full breakdown, but this segment was enough to prove that this game was a true return to form for the franchise.

The option to replay entire missions has finally been introduced, plus Moxxie’s Big Encore Machine lets you challenge bosses over and over.

Split screen is limited to 2 players on a single PS5 or Xbox Series X/S or 4 players online and uses instanced loot, dynamic level scaling, individual difficulty options, and more.

Get ’em while they’re hot! Borderlands 4 preoders are up and available on all platforms right now via the game’s official site. We have three versions to pick from, so let me break them all down.

Standard Edition – $70

Deluxe Edition – $100

Super Deluxe Edition – $130