Summary
- Borderlands 4 will bring back split-screen co-op, a franchise staple, allowing for 2-player local and 4-player online modes.
- Co-op continues to be an important feature for the Borderlands franchise, which launched with the original game back in 2009.
- Lead writer Sam Winkler confirmed a decrease in toilet humor in Borderlands 4, addressing fan concerns from Borderlands 3.
Thanks to online store listings, Borderlands 4 appears to be bringing back its split-screen co-op feature, which has been a staple for the franchise. Gearbox has been teasing Borderlands 4 for quite a while, leaving fans waiting for any sort of new details to sink their teeth into.
Following a short teaser earlier in 2024, fans finally got their best look at Borderlands 4 during The Game Awards, where a lengthy trailer showcased the game, new enemies, and also new features like a grapple hook. While there are still tons of questions remaining about the upcoming looter shooter, including Vault Hunter details, new pieces of information have slowly come out over the past few weeks, including the return of a classic Borderlands feature.
What Borderlands 4 Being 'Borderlands 4' Suggests About the Game
The title Borderlands 4 may seem straightforward, but it carries subtle implications about the game’s story direction and its place in the series.
With Borderlands 4 now up on digital storefronts like Xbox Marketplace and the PlayStation Store, new details can be gleaned from the listings. Specifically, both storefronts indicate that Borderlands 4 features local co-op and multiplayer for two people as well as 4-player online functionality, potentially adding the game to the current list of best local multiplayer games. Better yet, the Xbox storefront lists cross-platform multiplayer, and PlayStation 5 fans will enjoy DualSense functionality with support for "Vibration function and trigger effect."
Borderlands 4 Bringing Back Split-screen Co-op Functionality
Co-op functionality has been a staple of the Borderlands series since it originally launched back in 2009. While couch co-op gaming is getting more and more rare, the Borderlands franchise has continued to embrace it, allowing 2 local players to play together, or up to 4 join online together. Fans are hopeful that this latest game handles co-op better than Borderlands 3, which was notorious for suffering from performance issues at launch.
Fans continue to be eager for any new information and have seemingly found it through some alternative sources rather than big press releases. Borderlands 4 lead writer Sam Winkler recently responded to some fan questions and confirmed that the overreliance on toilet humor and memes will be cut back a bit, though the humor will still be a core element. Winkler remains a critic of Borderlands 3's overall tone, which, in his view, went too far with the toilet humor at times.
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
Borderlands 4 brings intense action, badass Vault Hunters, and billions of wild and deadly weapons to an all-new planet ruled by a ruthless tyrant.
Crash into Kairos as one of four new Vault Hunters seeking wealth and glory. Wield powerful Action Skills, customize your build with deep skill trees, and dominate enemies with dynamic movement abilities.
Break free from the oppressive Timekeeper, a ruthless dictator who dominates the masses from on high. Now a world-altering catastrophe threatens his perfect Order, unleashing Mayhem across the planet.
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
