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Subscribe from just £3 Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£9.99Subscribe now Gamescom 2025 schedule Battlefield 6 New Games for 2025 Recommended reading Borderlands Randy Pitchford says Borderlands 4 is intended to "bring new people in" to the series, and I can only hope it's better at that than the Borderlands movie and its $110 million loss Borderlands Borderlands 4 has the "biggest world" Gearbox has ever made, and it's as seamless as it can be thanks to the power of "technical bulls***" that allows for "less borders, more lands" Borderlands Borderlands 4 is "turning out to be better" than Borderlands 3 "by every measurement we have, including subjective ones," Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford teases After 4 hours with Borderlands 4 I'm not yet sold on its biggest changes, but Gearbox says "it would be strange" if Borderlands wasn't "constantly growing and adapting" Borderlands The new Borderlands 4 trailer feels like an extreme parody of the 2025 games industry: a (literal) bloodbath caused by board members killing cool ideas to save money Borderlands "It is a turning point in our universe": Gearbox explains Borderlands 4's deliberately less-stupid story, and it feels weird to actually be interested in a Borderlands plot Borderlands "Borderlands is already bats**t," says Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford, so why should Borderlands 4 "care about the laws of physics" with new movement tech Action RPGs Borderlands Borderlands 4 Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford says the game industry once expected a genre experiment like Borderlands to "die," but it actually became "one of the leading video game franchises in the world": "It's kind of humbling" Dustin Bailey Contributions from Catherine Lewis 20 August 2025 "We are always exploring the boundaries" When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Gearbox) Borderlands 4 is one of the biggest upcoming new games for 2025, but a decade-and-a-half ago the series was getting underway in pretty humble circumstances. Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford says that the industry at large expected the original Borderlands to come and go, and the success of the series since then has been downright "humbling." "If you look at the Borderlands games over time, you see that we are pushing, and we are always exploring the boundaries," Pitchford tells GamesRadar+ at Gamescom. "But, we are doing it within a framework that is very natural to what Borderlands is. And I think that’s one of the reasons why we're on our fourth Borderlands game, and it’s one of the most successful franchises of all time." Before Borderlands launched in 2009, Gearbox was mostly known for its WW2 shooter series Brothers in Arms, a Half-Life expansion, and a handful of PC ports through the early '00s. Would a studio like that really be able to make a hybrid of FPS games and loot-driven RPGs work? These days, RPG mechanics are a given in almost every genre, but back then it seemed like a pretty wild experiment, and Pitchford says there were a lot of skeptics around Borderlands. You may like Randy Pitchford says Borderlands 4 is intended to "bring new people in" to the series, and I can only hope it's better at that than the Borderlands movie and its $110 million loss Borderlands 4 has the "biggest world" Gearbox has ever made, and it's as seamless as it can be thanks to the power of "technical bulls***" that allows for "less borders, more lands" Borderlands 4 is "turning out to be better" than Borderlands 3 "by every measurement we have, including subjective ones," Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford teases "We went from an industry that predicted that we would die – that Borderlands would find no audience – to being one of the leading video game franchises in the world. And it's kind of humbling, frankly, to be a part of it," Pitchford says. But with Borderlands 4 out in a matter of weeks, Pitchford says he's not too concerned with how the reception to the series has evolved over the past 16 years. "I don't really worry about that too much. We just focus on committing to the bit, and see where our designs lead us." The Gamescom 2025 schedule rolls on, but don't miss everything announced at the Future Games Show 2025. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. See more PS5 News Xbox Series X PlayStation Dustin Bailey Social Links Navigation Staff Writer Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator. With contributions from Catherine LewisDeputy News Editor You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Randy Pitchford says Borderlands 4 is intended to "bring new people in" to the series, and I can only hope it's better at that than the Borderlands movie and its $110 million loss Borderlands 4 has the "biggest world" Gearbox has ever made, and it's as seamless as it can be thanks to the power of "technical bulls***" that allows for "less borders, more lands" Borderlands 4 is "turning out to be better" than Borderlands 3 "by every measurement we have, including subjective ones," Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford teases After 4 hours with Borderlands 4 I'm not yet sold on its biggest changes, but Gearbox says "it would be strange" if Borderlands wasn't "constantly growing and adapting" The new Borderlands 4 trailer feels like an extreme parody of the 2025 games industry: a (literal) bloodbath caused by board members killing cool ideas to save money "It is a turning point in our universe": Gearbox explains Borderlands 4's deliberately less-stupid story, and it feels weird to actually be interested in a Borderlands plot Latest in Borderlands Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford says "I think they could charge $200" for Borderlands 4, "you can't find a better value in the world for any type of entertainment," then adds: "I wish they'd give it away, because then everyone would play it" Borderlands 4 designer points to Baldur's Gate 3 as an RPG inspiration for Gearbox's new and improved buildcrafting: "I want to hit the end game and be doing billions of damage" Borderlands 4 laughs in the face of Borderlands 3's 1 billion guns as Gearbox says there's 30 billion this time, which the devs kept track of using a Matrix-style "wall" of weapons Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford says Wolfenstein 3D and Diablo influenced the OG Borderlands as the devs aimed to "blend the moment-to-moment fun of a shooter" with the satisfaction of progression Randy Pitchford and his "big personality" may have caused Gearbox some controversy with all that $80 Borderlands 4 banter, but his boss wouldn't have it any other way: "I still love him to death" Take Two boss says Borderlands 4 is $70 instead of $80 because "we want to put out the best entertainment on Earth and we want to deliver more value than what we charge for" Latest in News Baby Reindeer creator's new series about an "explosion of violence" between a pair of estranged brothers gets a first look showing off the main characters "RTS will not be the big genre again," Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 lead predicts, but it can still be a big niche: "RTS won't kick shooters from the top of the food chain anytime soon, but that's fine, right?" BioShock 4 layoffs have reportedly hit over 80 people, delaying planned late 2026 or early 2027 release and extending 11 years of development hell Spider-Verse filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller join forces with Batman writer Tom King for an Archie movie Dune: Awakening devs announce Chapter 2 update and Lost Harvest DLC, promise "no significant advantage" over people who don't buy as players worry goofy skin sickness has already started: "Dune doesn't need stupid skins like this" Despite being a Netflix release, Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi say seeing the upcoming horror movie in theaters would “be ideal”: "It'd be nice to have a communal experience" GAME REVIEWS MOVIE REVIEWS This D&D-style board game "pairs gentle strategic fun with tempting press-your-luck mechanics" for a very good time Sword of the Sea review: "Joyous, fluid hoverboarding connects together everything I loved about Journey and The Pathless" This D&D board game could be the magic item needed to refresh your game nights, but it won't be a critical hit for everyone OFF review: "Undertale fans need to play this RPG that inspired it – I can't believe it took this stellar remake to get me to step up to the plate" Drag x Drive review: "I'm left craving Arms' sauce from Nintendo's twitchy yet shallow basketballer, which feels like a tech demo" Weapons review: "A twisted fairytale that bests Barbarian" The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range" Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU" Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber" M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion" Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids." 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