With its highly anticipated launch on September 12th, 2025,Borderlands 4is set to be developer Gearbox Software’s"best Borderlands to date."
As well as gaining info from all the public coverage and marketing material surrounding the game, I had the opportunity to attend a preview event and learned much about themany quality-of-life improvements thatBorderlands 4will have compared to its predecessors.
Borderlands 4 To Feature “Billions Of Weapons And Accessories” Says Gearbox
Prepare to be overwhelmed with the number of weapons in Borderlands 4.
Based on what I saw in the hands-on preview version ofBorderlands 4, the quality of life changes will most certainly make the looter-shooter experience much more convenient, though Borderlands veterans might take some time to get used to everything new.
Borderlands Made Convenient
One of the most notable quality of life improvements inBorderlands 4is thatjust about every character customization screen is consolidated into the player character menu.
In previousBorderlandsgames,players would have to travel to a hub area and access a Quick Change station to make any changes to their character’s appearance,including color palettes and head skins.
PriorBorderlandsgames also required players to speak to vendors like Crazy Earl to increase their SDU inventory sizes. Instead, players can now increase their ammo and inventory capacity with a currency that they can earn by completing missions and other objectives instead of Eridium.
While Eridium returns as a late-game currency, not much else was revealed during the preview. When asked about its applications, Anthony Nicholson, Gearbox’s Senior Project Producer, said the developers will have “more details to share on Eridium at a later date.”
Borderlands 4also continues the natural evolution of the franchise, as each subsequent game tries to innovate the gameplay;the game will feature a traversal system that allows for higher mobility and verticality,making navigating the large open world and combat arenas much more enjoyable and engaging.
In terms of navigation, Echo-4 will be a reliable robot companion throughout your playthrough,serving as a guide across Kairos through its ability to scan the environment for accessible paths.It also doesn’t talk like Claptrap, so that’s certainly a bonus.
Navigation will also emphasize exploration,replacing the mini-map with a compass and Echo-4’s holographic pathways,which provide the quickest route to a marker or objective.
On top of that,Vault Hunters can also summon the Digirunner with a single press of a button instead of having to trek to Catch-A-Ride stations.
Adam May, the game’s Art Director says, “… What [the dev team] wanted in general for the world was more accessibility to all the things that normally you’d have to go back to someplace for, and that was just a really easy way instead of having to go back to Catch-A-Ride station every time like you did in the past. Again, it’s just to keep players playing as much as possible. No downtime.”
While I was only able to test this at a limited capacity during the preview event, you can instantly teleport to your friends anywhere in the world while playing in co-op. The teleportation speed is indeed instant, with no load times at all.
Borderlands 4: Major Updates Revealed in New PlayStation Showcase
The looter-shooter legend is making its big comeback with Borderlands 4 from Gearbox, set to release on September 12 this year.
