Borderlands 4 Brought Forward Slightly, Gameplay Showcased

2K Games and Gearbox Software announced that they have brought forward the release date for looter-shooter Borderlands 4. Previously planned to release on September 23, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, the game will now launch on September 12, 2025. A Nintendo Switch 2 release is also planned for later in 2025. In addition, the game received a gameplay deep dive presentation as part of a dedicated PlayStation State of Play video. The twenty-minute video showcases two of the game’s four playable Vault Hunters, reveals parts of its new setting on the planet Kairos, and details some of its gameplay systems and mechanics.

The planet Kairos has been kept hidden for thousands of years by the oppressive Timekeeper, using cybernetic implants called Bolts and an army of synthetic soldiers known as the Order. However, six years prior to the game, a rogue moon teleported into its orbit, shattering its veil, with many of its denizens rising up. Players control one of four Vault Hunters — Vex the Siren, Rafa the Ex-soldier, Harlowe the Gravitar, and Amon the Forgeknight — who crash land onto the planet and help ignite the revolution against the Timekeeper. The game will also features returning characters including Claptrap, Moxxi, and Zane, as well as an assortment of new characters and factions.

Each Vault Hunter has their own class to give them a distinct feel in combat, with Vex and Rafa being the subjects of the gameplay showcase. Vex uses phase energy to power up herself and is able to conjure minions, while Rafa wears an exo-suit capable of digitally manifesting an arsenal of weapons. Players are able to customise their style by selecting three of the character’s signature abilities as Action Skills. Each character also has their own unique trait that impacts their play style; for example, Vex’s causes her Action Skills to be attuned to the element of the weapon she currently has equipped. These Action Skills can be enhanced with various augments, with players also able to unlock three branching paths of passive abilities to further customise their builds.

In addition to new skills, players also have new movement options including gliding, dashing, double-jumping, and point-grappling. There is also a new Digirunner vehicle that players can summon at will and use to explore the world. Players are accompanied by an ECHO-4 robot companion, which can provide location guidance, with the game including various world events and hidden treasures to encounter as players explore. Certain locations called Silos house old tech that can be reclaimed for the resistance, and also provide an approximate location for Vault Key Fragments. Once enough fragments are collected, this granted players access to a high-level Vault dungeon that houses both challenging enemies and rare loot.

The game includes a host of new weapons, including three new weapon manufacturers to bring the total to eight, each with their own characteristics. It also includes a new Licensed Parts system, which allows for a single weapon to have abilities and traits from multiple manufacturers. The game’s loot system has been adjusted so that Legendary drops are rarer, with options to replay missions and boss fights to make farming certain drops easier. There are also new and adjusted gear slots, including Ordnance, a shared cooldown slot for Grenades and Heavy Weapons; Enhancements, which replace Borderlands 3′s Artifacts and augment weapons based on their manufacturer; and Repkits, which let players heal or temporarily buff themselves.

Borderlands 4 will include two-player local split-screen co-op multiplayer on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, as well as full cross-play four-player online co-op multiplayer on all platforms at launch. Co-op features instanced loot for each player, dynamic level scaling, individual difficulty settings, and direct fast travel to other players.