Borderlands 4 Will Attempt To Regain Franchise Footing After Movie Flop

Well, that was quick. Game developer Gearbox Software screened a teaser trailer for Borderlands 4 at Gamescom, perhaps to quell any uprising by fans of the franchise following the horrible Borderlands live action movie earlier this month. To say the trailer was cryptic (even for a teaser) would be an understatement, but it definitely has enough to give us faith that Borderlands has life in it yet.

At the Gamescom Opening Night Live event, 2K and Gearbox Software revealed a 1.5-minute teaser trailer that shows off bits of a new planet that collides with another planet with what looks like an icy atmosphere. Bits from the collision start falling from the sky and finally we see a robotic arm pick up a mask from one of the crash sites. When the arm flips the mask around, there's the ubiquitous Borderlands gas mask from previous titles. Annnnd... that's all she wrote.

Although no further details for the game were given, such as gameplay, plot, or characters, the developer did say that gamers won't have to wait long for this fourth mainline installment to the Borderlands franchise. 2K Core Games Senior Vice President and General Manager Catharina Lavers Mallet said that, “we’re thrilled to be able to share with our fans that 2025 will mark a massive year for 2K and Gearbox Entertainment." 

If this timeline pans out, this will put Borderlands 4 slightly over five years after Borderlands 3 was released. It seems like 2K and Gearbox want to take things to the next level, while maintaining some of the best elements previous Borderlands entries (and probably recover some lost mojo from the big flop of a movie at the box office).  

Randy Pitchford, founder and President of the Gearbox Entertainment Company, stated, "All of us at Gearbox have massive ambitions for Borderlands 4 and are putting everything we have into making everything we love about Borderlands better than ever before while taking the game to new levels in exciting new directions.”

So stay tuned to this space for more news and details as development of the new game deepens. Borderlands 4  is expected to drop on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC (on Steam and the Epic Game Store).