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Borderlands 4 is a 2025 action role-playing looter-shooter developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. In this fifth installment of the mainline series, players travel to the all-new, open-world planet of Kairos to lead a revolution against a ruthless tyrant known as the Timekeeper.
New setting and storyline
The story of Borderlands 4 begins on Kairos, a planet that has been under the oppressive rule of the Timekeeper for years. After Pandora's moon, Elpis, crashes through the protective barrier surrounding the planet, a resistance movement rises up to fight back. Players join the fight as one of four new Vault Hunters:
Amon the Forgeknight: A tanky melee fighter.
Harlowe the Gravitar: A combat scientist who uses cryo and radiation gadgets.
Rafa the Exo-Soldier: A soldier in an advanced exo-suit.
Vex the Siren: Wields supernatural Phase energy.
Players will also encounter returning fan-favorite characters like Claptrap and Mad Moxxi.
Core gameplay features
Borderlands 4 refines the franchise's established looter-shooter formula with key enhancements.
Seamless open world: The game features a vast, single world on Kairos with four seamlessly connected regions and no loading screens between them.
Expanded traversal: The combat is more dynamic thanks to new movement abilities like double jumping, gliding, grappling, and dashing. A customizable hover bike can also be summoned anywhere.
New Vault Hunters and deeper skills: The four new Vault Hunters each have three distinct Action Skills and branching skill trees, allowing for extensive build customization.
New loot system: The "Licensed Parts" system introduces greater weapon variety. Guns can now be found with parts from multiple manufacturers, creating hybrid weapons with different abilities.
New gear slots: The game introduces a new ordnance slot for powerful, cooldown-based weapons and a "Rep Kit" for buffs.
Dynamic world events: The planet features dynamic weather and events, such as sandstorms and avalanches, which can impact gameplay and enemy spawns.
Improved co-op: The game fully supports crossplay for up to four players online, with features like instanced loot, dynamic level scaling, and individual difficulty settings.
Post-launch content
Developer Gearbox Software has outlined a roadmap for future content, including both paid and free updates.
New Vault Hunter: A new robot Vault Hunter named C4SH was announced at Tokyo Game Show 2025 and will arrive in early 2026 as paid downloadable content.
Story packs: The first paid story expansion, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, will feature C4SH and is scheduled for Q1 2026.
Bounty packs: Smaller, narrative-focused packs will feature new missions, bosses, and rewards.
Seasonal events: Free mini-events, like the cosmic-horror-inspired "Horrors of Kairos," will be available to all players for a limited time.
Pearlescent tier: The ultra-rare "Pearlescent" loot tier will return as part of a free update in Q1 2026.