Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 is Gearbox Software's next major looter shooter and moves the series to the planet Kairos. There, the Timekeeper tightly controls the population and technology, while a rebellion tries to break his rule. Four new Vault Hunters are playable: Vex, Rafa, Amon and Harlowe. Each character has several action skills and their own skill trees, so builds can play very differently.

As is typical for Borderlands, the game combines fast firefights with loot hunting, absurd weapon variants and dark humour. The campaign can be played solo or in co-op.

The PC version of Borderlands 4 was released on Steam on September 11, 2025. The officially announced console launch for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S followed on September 12, 2025.

A Nintendo Switch 2 version was originally announced as well, but was first delayed and later paused. Take-Two confirmed in early February 2026 that development of this SKU has been stopped for now. As a result, there is currently no new release date.

Gearbox has continuously expanded Borderlands 4 since launch. As of September 2026, the current post-launch offering includes Story Pack 2 with FL4K and the Last Resort and the new Hunter Loveless, as well as Bounty Pack 5 with Amara and the Vile Shadows.

Borderlands 4 is available natively for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. On these platforms, the game supports online co-op for up to four players and cross-platform play. On consoles, local split-screen for two players is also available.

The announced Nintendo Switch 2 version is currently not released: after a delay, its development was paused in February 2026. As a result, only the actually released native versions for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series are currently available.

Kairos is divided into several large, interconnected regions. Movement has been significantly expanded compared to older series entries: Vault Hunters can glide, dash, double jump and pull themselves along grapple points. ECHO-4 serves as a companion and navigation aid, while the Digirunner provides vehicles for longer distances.

The four Vault Hunters use different action skills and three skill trees per character. For gear, Borderlands 4 combines weapons from multiple manufacturers with the Licensed Parts system, so traits from different manufacturers can come together in one weapon. There are also Ordnance, Repkits and Enhancements. In co-op, each player gets their own loot, while enemies and difficulty can be adjusted dynamically to the group.

Beyond the campaign, Silos lead to hidden activities, Vault Key fragments open additional chambers, and repeatable boss encounters offer targeted loot hunting.

After launch, Gearbox is expanding Borderlands 4 with Story Packs, additional Vault Hunters, Bounty Packs and Vault Cards. The expansions require the base game and add either new story content, playable characters or repeatable missions and reward paths.

The current state as of September 2026 includes, among other things, Story Pack 2: FL4K and the Last Resort and the separately available Vault Hunter Loveless the Hacker. Bounty Pack 5: Amara and the Vile Shadows has also been released, featuring a repeatable mission, new enemies and additional loot; the corresponding Vault Card 5 is also available separately.

Earlier expansions such as Story Pack 1 and the previous Bounty Packs remain part of the post-launch history. Edition bundles are not treated as standalone games.

On PC, Borderlands 4 requires an SSD and fairly modern hardware. For the minimum, Gearbox lists 16 GB RAM, eight CPU cores and a graphics card on the level of a GeForce RTX 2070 or Radeon RX 5700 XT, among other things. For the recommended configuration, requirements rise to 32 GB RAM and roughly an RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT.

Installation requires about 100 GB of free SSD space.