Look, you don’t need me to tell you why Borderlands is a pillar of looter shooters, but Gearbox just cranked the hype past 11 at Gamescom 2025. Borderlands 4 is charging toward us fast, bringing everything we love back with brand-new gear, planets, and punch. I was gonna write a standalone article about Borderlands 4, but at the time of writing this article; Gamescom hasn’t happened yet. So me, from the future, will keep updating this so DON’T WORRY IF YOU SEE THIS IN THE PAST.
I am not a time traveler. Or at least not yet. But am I glad to have fast forwarded through time to go back to Berlin… That south of France trip was refreshing but I was missing home now. Back to my good ol’ depressing greyscale cold winter-like rainy Berlin! (I am not joking I sorta missed that lol)
What Gearbox Revealed at Gamescom Day 1
The crowd went nuts when Gearbox and 2K dropped the Borderlands 4 teaser during Opening Night Live. We saw a planet in chaos, a rusty Psycho mask, and “coming 2025.” No walking back to Pandora this time…. players are launching onto a new alien world.
But that wasn’t all. Randy Pitchford reminded us why Borderlands matters. He called it a genre-founding experiment, a blend of shooter and RPG that other games tried but never quite matched. He even joked this game could justify a two-hundred-dollar price, though he wishes it was free so everyone would play.
Here’s the kicker. Nvidia announced a sweet RTX 50 Series graphics card bundle that includes Borderlands 4. And, just to hype the visuals, the game will launch with DLSS 4 support for sleek performance and ray tracing. That is such a bruh moment imo lmao. It doesn’t matter to me because I already have an RTX 4090 and a beast of a PC so I am happy to just load in and go crazy fr.
Here’s What Changed, Here’s What We’ve Seen
Gaming Boulevard writers snatched a quick look at the Borderlands 4 demo featuring Amon the Forgeknight. This class leans into melee brutality. Amon’s Forgefist and Molten Slam moves are shockwaves of destruction that feel satisfying in a way only Borderlands can deliver. The fights are messy, hilarious, and jam-packed with shiny loot. It all hit so familiar and so alive that you can’t help but laugh while shredding enemies. A lot of people are saying that the weapons are funny asf and are clunky to look at. But we haven’t even gotten to properly play it yet so I’d hold off those opinions until later. If I’m being honest, it looks fucking cool and the humor part is just the icing on top of the cake!
Everything You Already Knew About Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 launches September 12, 2025 on PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch 2 release on October 3. Who the fuck plays Borderlands 4 on Switch though? The only handheld console I’d touch would be a Steam Deck for games like these. I recently got the opportunity to play Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2 on it, and it was sooooo nice. I really didn’t think it could make the Nintendo Switch seem like a slowpoke. And I have the OLED version w/ better visuals as well! Ah, whatever.
You play a Vault Hunter on Kairos, a massive seamless world shattered when Pandora’s moon Elpis goes rogue. No loading screens. Instead, you surf through diverse biomes with grappling hooks, vehicles, environmental chaos and full-on co-op with up to three friends.
Gearbox warns not to call it “open world” but it’s their most expansive design yet. Expect emergent humor baked into gameplay and emergent chaos as the world reacts to you.
What Makes Borderlands 4 Feel Better than Ever
First, it retains that signature arcing bullet physics, wave-after-wave combat, and infinite loot gratification. But shipping in a melee-focused class like Amon changes things. You’re not camping corners anymore. You’re smashing in the middle of it.
The graphics got sharper in Unreal Engine 5. Blasticles drop in HD, environments glow, and chaos flows in cinematic technicolor.
Performance is quoted as buttery smooth with DLSS 4. Nvidia’s backing isn’t just fluff – they made Borderlands 4 look terrific on their new cards, ensuring 5K laughs per second.
Pitchford’s emphasis on value matters too. He said traditional Borderlands games delivered thousands of hours of entertainment, and Borderlands 4 won’t break that run. Finally, the lore is pushing forward. The story arc picks up where Borderlands 3 left off, adding sprawl, secret alien treasure and a dictator named the Timekeeper. If the Borderlands 4 narrative focuses on that balance of chaos and clarity, it could hit the sweet spot. Idk if there will be a Borderlands 5 after this (it probably will) but if there is one, it will need a lot to top this current standard that is being set with this game.
TL;DR Recap (For the ones who don’t have that much time or patience like me)
- Announced Day 1 of Gamescom with a cryptic trailer warning us a new planet is up for looting
- Pitchford says Borderlands defined the looter shooter and that this could rightfully cost $200—he also wishes it was free
- Nvidia bundles RTX 50-series GPUs with Borderlands 4 and confirms DLSS 4 ray tracing visuals
- Hands-on demo: melee class Amon is brutal, looting is intact, combat chaos remains fun as hell
- September 12 is the official release on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X. Switch 2 owners wait til October 3
- Kairos is seamless, open-ish terrain full of traversal toys, co-op, and chaotic humor built into gameplay
Final Thoughts
Borderlands 4 isn’t a rewrite; it’s a polished overload with new tricks up its sleeve. Whether you’re down for flinging explosive Jacks or fist-firing mobs, this entry promises bigger zones, sharper tech, wilder gameplay and more of that signature, unapologetic chaos.
Pre-order through Gamers-Outlet.net to lock in best price and early access deals. When September 12 rolls around, you’ll be ready to loot first and laugh later.