The Borderlands series is home to many iconic antagonists, and it looks like Borderlands 4 will be no different. Commandant Steele, Handsome Jack, and Tyreen Calypso remain memorable villains to fans of the series, for example, and Borderlands 4’s The Timekeeper could be the next to join this list of infamous characters.
While these are the primary villains, the series also features some quieter antagonists in its weapon manufacturers. Borderlands features these companies prominently throughout the games, but some of their evil deeds can be hidden in side missions or overshadowed by the bombastic personalities of the primary villains. By observing the worst actions of each of these companies, players can have a better understanding of the threats the manufacturers may pose in the upcoming Borderlands 4.
Borderlands 4's New Manufacturers Explained
Borderlands 4 will shake things up quite a bit from its predecessor, and it will feature three all-new weapon manufacturers.
Many Borderlands Manufacturers Are Truly Villainous
Atlas
With Rhys – one of Tales from the Borderlands’ protagonists – as its new CEO in Borderlands 3, Atlas is currently better than it was in previous games, though it is still not great, using animal testing for its products. In the original Borderlands game, though, Atlas was in search of Pandora’s Vault of the Destroyer. It had the Crimson Lance to enforce its laws, but wanted to seize the power of The Destroyer for even greater control.
Dahl
One of Dahl’s most heinous misdeeds is that they are the cause of many of the bandit factions throughout the series. It used the labor of unpaid workers to mine for Eridium on Pandora before leaving the planet and abandoning them. This isn’t the only time the company has done this, either. The mining operations on Elpis led to The Crackening, an event explored in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, which killed many people on Pandora’s moon. Once again, the company fled, leaving its laborers behind.
Hyperion
Hyperion has always been an immoral company throughout the Borderlands franchise, but it became much more of a threat during the events of Borderlands 2 with Handsome Jack as the CEO. Jack intended to open the Vault of the Destroyer to use its power to secure control over Pandora and its people. When this failed, he then attempted to rule over Pandora with the power of The Warrior, destroying settlements and torturing people to see his plan through. Since then, Hyperion has not had as much of an impact in the Borderlands games, but Handsome Jack’s actions make the company a contender for one of the most corrupt.
After the player defeats Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2, New Tales from the Borderlands reveals that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’s Athena becomes the new CEO of Hyperion.
Jakobs
Though Tyreen Calypso and the Children of the Vault briefly took control of the company, Jakobs was already quite a vile manufacturer before this. In order to hide their actions, Jakobs worked to colonize the planet Gehenna under the name of “The Company”, using this title and the planet’s resources to develop a bioweapon known as The Ruiner, which players can fight in Borderlands 3’s Bounty of Blood DLC.
Jakobs couldn’t control the weapon it created, leaving the planet and destroying any evidence of its involvement. This isn’t the only time the company has been involved with biological experimentation, playing a part in creating the zombies in The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned DLC and leaving its workers for dead on the island.
Torgue
While Mr. Torque doesn’t seem all that bad in comparison to the leaders of other weapon manufacturing companies, he is not in charge. Despite Borderlands' Torgue manufacturer being named after him, Mr. Torgue sold the company during The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle Gobbler DLC of Borderlands 2. The company has always been quite shady, supplying weapons to bandits in the first game, but the worst thing Torgue has done so far is hold a deathmatch with its employees, halving its workforce in a matter of days.
Borderlands 4 Missing Fan Favorite Weapon Manufacturers
More Borderlands 4 information comes to light, including the eight primary weapon manufacturers that will be featured in the game.
Some Borderlands Companies Have Become Major Threats
Bandit and Scav
Bandit – and its Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel equivalent Scav – manufactures some of the weapons in the Borderlands series, though they are not particularly a company. Namely, Borderlands’ Bandit weapons are pieced together by the game’s bandit characters from other materials, giving them a unique look and properties. Players don’t need to play any game in the series for long to learn about some of the worst things bandits have done.
Children of the Vault
Children of the Vault, often abbreviated to COV, is Borderlands 3’s take on Bandit weapons. Likewise, it isn’t technically a company, but the group's actions are bad enough to warrant a mention. The cult-like group is led by antagonists Tyreen and Troy Calypso. The former of the two is a Siren with the Phaseleech ability, which she used to merge with The Destroyer to become Borderlands 3’s Tyreen the Destroyer to control Pandora and destroy as she pleases.
Maliwan
In Borderlands 3, Maliwan is the corporation with the most actively evil intentions. Working with Tyreen Calypso, Katagawa Jr. Had her use her Siren Phaseleech abilities to kill his relatives, securing his role as the leader of Maliwan. With this position, he and Tyreen worked to secure the Vault containing The Rampager on Promethea. Maliwan is driven by corporate goals, starting wars with other companies in an attempt to force allyships and destroying planets for corporate gain. Maliwan’s actions in Borderlands are much colder than the rest of the series’ manufacturers because of the lengths it will go to for profit.
Tediore
Every Borderlands firearms company has its own individual quirks with its weapons. Tediore weapons are known to be cheap, both in terms of how much they cost for players to buy and the quality of the guns themselves. This gimmick is elevated from Borderlands 2 onward, with the weapons becoming disposable.
Until the release of New Tales from the Borderlands, cutting costs was Tediore’s main offense, but it was revealed that it had developed a weapon to endlessly wipe out and resurrect entire populations as a form of torture. This isn’t the last players will see of their villainy, as Borderlands 4’s Rafa will show how the company has shifted away from creating weapons, instead opting to weaponize people.
Borderlands 4 Returning Legendary Wish List
The Borderlands series has had its fair share of powerful legendaries and plenty of them have a fair shot of returning in the upcoming Borderlands 4.
The Worst Actions of Some Borderlands Companies Are Yet To Be Revealed
Anshin
Anshin is one of the few manufacturers in the Borderlands series that does not produce guns, focusing instead on grenade mods, health kits, shields, and the Borderlands Quick Change stations. Very little information about the company is given throughout the story of the Borderlands games, despite it featuring in each mainline installment since Borderlands 2. From a gameplay standpoint, though, the company’s worst thing it has done is provide both offensive and defensive items, profiting from the player’s pain and killings.
Eridian
Like with Bandit and COV, Eridian isn’t a company; they are an alien race whose technology has been used for weaponry both by the Eridians and the series’ companies. They sought to imprison Borderlands’ Vault Monsters within the Vaults to prevent needless destruction.
By sealing these beings away, the Eridians aimed to do more good than harm, but the Vaults became a legendary prize for Pandora’s manufacturers to find. Borderlands' Eridians eventually sacrificed themselves to seal The Destroyer away, and while they haven’t made a true appearance in the series as a result, their technology is still integral to the series.
Pangolin
Much like Anshin, Pangolin does not manufacture guns, specializing mostly in the production of shields and class mods. The company did also produce grenade mods in the original Borderlands game, which were dropped in later games until Borderlands 3. There is not much information about Borderlands' Pangolin yet, but Borderlands 4 could change this. Either way, it’s safe to assume that a company dealing with weapons and shields is likely to have similar problems to the rest of the series’ companies.
S&S Munitions
S&S Munitions is arguably one of the most moral companies in the series, if only because its products very rarely appear. It was one of the manufacturers of the first Borderlands game, but remained absent throughout the rest of the series because of their weapons being very similar to Bandit weapons.
The company did get a mention in Borderlands 3, though, revealing that Borderlands' S&S Munitions became S&S Accessories, and is responsible for the light beacons on dropped loot. Compared to the rest of the companies, S&S Munitions doesn’t seem too bad, although manufacturing weapons and posters encouraging killing targets isn’t exactly moral.
Vladof
Despite being present throughout the entire series, very little is still known about Vladof. The company spreads the message that it is for the people, but with how big the corporation seems to be, it could be that this is all for show. As it played a part in the Corporate Wars and was one of the winning manufacturers, Borderlands’ Vladof is likely just as bad as the rest of the series’ companies.
The companies in the Borderlands series are the underlying evil throughout the franchise, causing pain and destruction for the most corporate gain possible. Some companies are series staples, and are confirmed to be returning as manufacturers in Borderlands 4. However, some remain somewhat of a mystery to players, even after appearing in multiple games. While the series moves on to Borderlands 4's planet Kairos and the new threat that is The Timekeeper, it is possible that more will be revealed about these corporations and their heinous deeds.
Borderlands 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- September 12, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - all platforms
- Prequel(s)
- Borderlands 3, Borderlands 2, Borderlands
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unsupported
- PC Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- October 3, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- Local Co-Op Support
- Yes
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
