Summary
- Borderlands 4 is set for a 2025 launch and promises an interdimensional conflict set on a new planet.
- The series will be ditching its previous lower-brow humor for a darker tone, but will probably retain its use of celebrity guest cameos.
- Despite aiming for seriousness, BL4 could cleverly include celebrities for comedic relief woven into its more mature parts.
Borderlands 4 will be blasting back onto the looter-shooter scene it helped popularize sometime in 2025. After a fairly lengthy hiatus, Gearbox Software recently officially confirmed the next title in the series, and provided some tantalizing looks at what's in store for fans when Borderlands 4's latest trailer dropped at The 2024 Game Awards. As the next generation entry, Borderlands 4 has some significant ground to cover in addressing some of the bigger mysteries and plot threads left open at the end of BL3. Based on what's been shown so far, it looks set up to do so through an intense and seemingly interdimensional conflict that will bring players to a new planet, among other details.
Ahead of release, the developer also noted that it will be changing up one longtime aspect of the series in the fourth installment, this being its overall tone and style of humor. This time around, studio CEO Randy Pitchford promised that fans would be facing a "darker, more serious" villain. Expanding on this, Borderlands 4's narrative director Sam Winkler has stated in no uncertain terms that it will be moving away from much of the "toilet comedy" and meme-based gags that have become associated with the franchise's sensibilities. While this is an encouraging sign of Borderlands becoming more self-reflective and mature, there are still components of its comedy that will probably be kept in place. In particular, it has usually had a healthy smattering of celebrity cameos, which is likely to remain the case for BL4.
Though it does not have a firm date yet, information from parent corporation Take-Two Interactive's financial reports points to a fiscal 2026 window, indicating that Borderlands 4's launch will potentially be after April 1, 2025.
Borderlands 4 Bringing Back Classic Franchise Feature
Borderlands 4 appears to be bringing back a core feature that has been a big part of every game in the franchise to this point.
Despite Its Stated Shift to a More Serious Tone, Borderlands 4 Probably Won't Abandon Celebrity Guests
Borderlands Has A Long Tradition of Featuring Great Celebrity Cameos
Even before it became a massive hit, Borderlands was basically built for celebrity guests to appear. Its zany sci-fi setting and over-the-top nature lend themselves well to inserting famous figures for a good laugh. As it grew in popularity, Gearbox brought in some great major talent to voice various characters, often playing upon their public personas filtered through Borderlands' signature satire. Sometimes these were bigger roles, like bosses or major NPCs, while others were more of a "blink-and-you-might miss-it" moment. Across the mainline titles and spin-offs like Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, some of the most well-known celebrities to grace Borderlands' world include:
- Ice-T
- Chris Hardwick
- Penn and Teller
- Donald Glover
- Andy Samberg
- Will Arnett
- Wanda Sykes
- ProZD (SungWon Cho)
Borderlands 4 Will Almost Certainly Have More Celebrity Guest Roles
Although the story framework and comments from Gearbox about Borderlands 4 aiming for a more serious mood might seem at odds with having celebrities pop up in it to crack jokes, they could actually make for more effective use than before. After all, even the darkest plot can use some levity to provide moments of relief and catharsis for audiences. Notable guests appearing at unexpected points to deliver a perfectly-timed zinger in BL4 would help break up the somber moments, and possibly be more memorable than if they were heavily peppered in.
The series also finds itself in a specifically amusing situation that it could capitalize on for comedic impact. Last year's film adaptation didn't land with fans or critics, and ended up widely panned. While this obviously wasn't the scenario those involved were hoping for, it could still prove to be a silver lining. Borderlands 4 now has the chance to poke fun at the movie, perhaps by featuring some of the film's stars as different characters who humorously reference and make light of it. This would be in line with Borderlands' fondness for cameos while making the best of an undesirable outcome.
Given its history, fans probably expect at least a couple of celebrity spots in the upcoming entry. And while it intends to be a grittier adventure, there's also the argument that Borderlands 4 can't completely leave its absurd brand of comedy behind. It's a good bet then that some recognizable and potentially surprising celebrities will appear in BL4 to inject some hilarity along the way, which will hopefully serve to strike a good balance between its turn to seriousness while retaining one of its best and most prominent inclusions.
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
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
