Gearbox’s upcoming looter-shooter promises significant quality-of-life improvements for multiplayer enthusiasts, addressing long-standing community feedback from previous instalments.
Co-Op Enhancements Take Centre Stage
At PAX East 2025, Gearbox revealed extensive details about Borderlands 4, with a particular focus on transformative changes to the cooperative gameplay experience. The developer has clearly taken player feedback from earlier titles to heart, implementing substantial improvements to make multiplayer more seamless and enjoyable.
Beyond the previously announced instanced loot system, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford highlighted that Borderlands 4 will feature dynamically scaled difficulty for each player in cooperative mode, ensuring appropriately challenging gameplay for everyone regardless of level or progress. Pitchford emphasised the importance of cooperative play to the Borderlands experience, stating that co-op is a fundamental philosophy for the development team and promising a best-in-class multiplayer experience.
Perhaps most exciting for fans is the completely revamped lobby system, making player connections significantly more straightforward. The new system supports true drop-in and drop-out functionality, eliminating the need to progress through hours of gameplay before accessing multiplayer features. Additionally, players will be able to fast-travel directly to friends, addressing one of the more frustrating aspects of previous titles.
Beyond Co-Op: Additional Revelations
The PAX East panel provided information on other aspects of the game as well. The developers touched on changes to the loot system, noting that Borderlands 4 will feature significantly fewer Legendary-class weapons compared to Borderlands 3, potentially making these rare items more meaningful when discovered.
Gearbox also unveiled two additional playable characters joining the already announced Vex and Rafa: Harlowe the Gravitar and Amon the Forge Knight. These new Vault Hunters expand the roster beyond the Siren and Tediore Exo-soldier classes previously revealed.
Borderlands 4 is scheduled for release on 12 September across multiple platforms including PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2. However, amidst industry-wide price increases for premium titles, the final retail price remains unconfirmed, with uncertainty about whether it will join other major releases at the $80 price point.