Borderlands 4 confirms release date and new skills in latest trailer
Borderlands 4, the latest instalment in the hugely popular (and hugely queer) franchise, has confirmed its release date in a new trailer which featured in PlayStation’s latest State of Play show.
The trailer is a minute-long explosion of shiny guns, looting and shooting in true Borderlands-style while keeping the details of plot and characters light for now, leaving plenty to be confirmed as the months roll by up to the official release date in September. This includes a deep-dive special State of Play promised for Spring this year which will focus on gameplay and will likely include a cast breakdown.
While players crash into new planet ‘Kairos’ as one of four new Vault Hunters who are seeking wealth and glory, we’re expecting a return of the established cast of Borderlands in some form throughout the adventure, including many of our LGBTQ favorites. After all, what’s a Borderlands game without Moxxi, Sir Hammerlock, Tiny Tina and the rest of these beloved characters?
On a panel following the reveal of Borderlands 4 at PAX West in September last year, narrative director Sam Winkler said: “We want to make sure the player and the vault hunters are the central characters of our story. We want to make sure the world is reactive, that the world is grounded. That while we keep our humor that brings a lot of people coming back to our franchise…we want to make sure that it’s situational, that it emerges naturally. So while we’re building these characters, we’re always making sure that they have strong personalities, that they will react differently to different situations, that we see the effects of that.”
The story will see our Vault Hunters have to break free from a ruthless dictator called the ‘Timekeeper’ as “a world-altering catastrophe threatens his perfect Order, unleashing mayhem across the planet”. Players will ignite and lead a resistance against the Timekeeper while battling through mechanical monstrosities, bloodthirsty bandits, and vicious beasts.
Where Borderlands 3 introduced some cool new climbing and slide mechanics, Borderlands 4 looks to be going even further as we see examples of gliding, dodging, fixed-point grappling, and more dynamic combat moves in the trailer… including what could be swimming!
Randy Varnell, the chief creative officer for Gearbox Entertainment, said: “Borderlands 4 is our most ambitious game to date, giving you more looting and shooting mayhem than ever before.”
Borderlands 4 releases on September 23, 2025 and will be available via PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store.
About The Author
