The Game Awards 2024 showcased a brand-new trailer for Borderlands 4, offering a tantalizing first look at gameplay and introducing a fresh team of Vault Hunters. While a concrete 2025 release date remains elusive, the trailer provided plenty of exciting details to dissect.
Randy Pitchford took the stage to unveil the trailer, which seamlessly blended cinematic storytelling with snippets of in-game action. The cinematic opens with a dramatic standoff between an army of psychos and alien creatures on the desert planet of Kairos, also revealing the game’s new antagonist, the Timekeeper. A montage of diverse environments and locations then flashes across the screen, showcasing the new Vault Hunter crew in action, with the ever-present Claptrap tagging along for the ride.
The new vault hunters in Borderlands 4.
While formal introductions are pending, the trailer offers glimpses of the two male and two female Vault Hunters utilizing new weapons, navigating the terrain with innovative vehicles, and employing a dynamic grappling hook traversal mechanic. One female Vault Hunter’s distinctive tattoos hint at a potential Siren connection, reminiscent of Lilith and Maya. True to Borderlands tradition, four-player co-op will be supported, allowing players to experience the entire chaotic adventure together.
New Guns, Abilities, and Enemies Await
The Borderlands franchise is renowned for its irreverent humor, signature art style, and seamless fusion of RPG elements with fast-paced FPS gameplay. While sharing characteristics with live-service games, the series maintains a strong focus on PvE content and rewarding loot grinding. The latest trailer showcases an array of new guns, abilities, and formidable enemies for players to encounter in both solo and four-player co-op modes.
Borderlands 4: Redemption After a Long Wait
Borderlands 4 arrives six years after its predecessor (excluding the 2022 spinoff, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands), following the commercially successful but narratively criticized Borderlands 3. Furthermore, the shadow of the poorly received Borderlands movie adds pressure for Borderlands 4 to recapture the hearts of fans.
Borderlands 4 is slated to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC sometime in 2025. More details are expected in the coming months.
