Borderlands 4 certainly looks like a Borderlands game in first gameplay trailer-Michael Beckwith-Entertainment – Metro

This guy seems appropriately villainous (Gearbox)

Gearbox’s first proper trailer for Borderlands 4 shares some familiar looking gameplay and a new villain for players to battle.

Amid all the surprise announcements at The Game Awards 2024, one thing we all knew would be there was a new Borderlands 4 trailer, with series creator Randy Pitchford having previously promised proper gameplay footage and a ‘sick’ cinematic sequence.

The initial announcement at Gamescom in August revealed very little, only confirming a new planet to explore, although one fan who was able to try an early build of the game described it as ‘amazing.’

Now everyone has a better idea of what Borderlands 4 will look and play like, and… there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of surprises.

The new trailer isn’t particularly long, lasting just over two minutes, but we do get a first look at our four playable vault hunters, as they run around and shoot things in typical Borderlands fashion.

While everything looks fairly familiar, developer Gearbox is describing Borderlands 4 as the most ‘ambitious’ entry yet.

In a PlayStation Blog post, creative director Graeme Timmins says, ‘Not only are we evolving the franchise’s signature looter-shooter gameplay in new ways, but we’re dead-set on delivering the quintessential Borderlands experience that fans know and love.’

The YouTube description for the trailer also boldly promises ‘billions of weapons’ (something Borderlands 3 boasted too, but technically refers to weapon variants) as well as co-op for up to four players.

For anyone interested in the plot, Borderlands 4 is confirmed to be set on the hidden world of Kairos. Thanks to the events of Borderlands 3, that saw the moon of Elpis being moved towards Kairos, the planet was subsequently bombarded by meteorites and bandit masks.

Years later, a horde known as the Rippers now stalks the planet wearing those bandit masks, but they’re apparently not the main antagonists. That role belongs to a new foe called the Timekeeper, a mysterious dictator, and his army of synthetic soldiers.

When will Borderlands 4 be released?

Gearbox has not provided a more concrete release date, leaving Borderlands 4 with a vague 2025 launch window. With GTA 6 expected to launch in autumn, we’d imagine Borderlands 4 will either try to release in the summer or much later, once the GTA hype winds down, maybe even in early 2026.

It’s worth noting that Borderlands publisher Take-Two also owns Rockstar Games, so they’ll know exactly when GTA 6 is coming out and how to avoid it.

For now, Gearbox says it will share a gameplay debut in early 2025, so fans can look forward to a more in-depth look at Borderlands 4 and hopefully any new mechanics within the coming months.

New planet, same psychopaths to shoot (Gearbox)

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