The Borderlands franchise has always had strong characters at its forefront, but each game's plot has often taken a backseat in favor of allowing the series' high-octane action to take center stage. Based on all of its pre-release material, Borderlands 4 seems to be delivering another strong cast of characters and even more tools for intense action, but it also seems to be putting more of a focus on the game's core narrative than ever before.
The recent story trailers and the "Welcome to Kairos" dev diary gave fans a great overview of Borderlands 4's main villains and the conflict they'll be thrust into when the ragtag band of Vault Hunters crash-land on the war-torn planet of Kairos. It looks like Borderlands 4 is adopting a more grounded tone this time around, and while that's undoubtedly the best move for the franchise, it hopefully won't forget some of the series' best gags. And there's one long-running secret that Borderlands 4 should keep close to its chest.
Borderlands 4's Quietest Reveal Could Be Its Best News Yet
A small detail in Borderlands 4’s Lilith mission may hint at a bigger design shift, but only those watching closely would know why it really matters.
Borderlands 4 Can't Spill The Beans on Sanctuary II
"We Don't Talk About Sanctuary II"
A city built atop a Dahl mining ship, players first encounter Sanctuary in Borderlands 2, where it acts as the Crimson Raider's headquarters and an in-game hub where players can find some of the series' most iconic characters. During a Hyperion assault on the city led by Handsome Jack, Sanctuary becomes airborne, and Lilith teleports it to safety. Borderlands 2's Sanctuary is eventually destroyed when Lilith and the Vault Hunters can't reclaim it from Dahl's Colonel Hector during the Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary DLC.
Taking place seven years after its predecessor, Borderlands 3 sees players take to the stars in Sanctuary III, a new mobile hub that takes the Crimson Raiders from one planet to the next. Intriguingly, fans never got to know what happened to Sanctuary II.
Before Borderlands 3's launch, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford addressed this mysterious gap in the timeline, simply stating "We don't talk about Sanctuary II." This mystery was further cemented when Borderlands 3 came out, where players could find an ECHO log from Ellie in The Droughts that says "We don't talk about Sanctuary II, though. Probably better that way." It's still a complete mystery what happened to Borderlands' Sanctuary II, but reading between the lines of Ellie's ECHO log, it seems likely something disastrous – and potentially embarrassing – happened to it.
There's a popular fan theory that Borderlands 3 moved straight onto Sanctuary III due to potential copyright issues with Marvel, as Thanos' ship in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame is called Sanctuary II. This is just a theory, though.
Borderlands 4 Has The Perfect Layup for This Long-Running Joke
Rather than finally shed light on this series secret, Borderlands 4 should keep the joke running, and it's got the perfect place to do so. Borderlands 4's recent story trailer showed what appeared to be Sanctuary III crashed onto the surface of Kairos.
At some point during Borderlands 4's campaign, it would be great to hear one of the Crimson Raiders compare Sanctuary III's crash to Sanctuary 2's mysterious backstory. Maybe a comment from Claptrap along the lines of "It's still not as bad as what happened to Sanctuary II. Don't ask about it." It'd be a simple joke to make, but one that would reward fans who remember this Borderlands deep cut.
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
