The Borderlands 4 hype is slowly beginning to build following the recent State of Play and PAX East 2025 panel. Alongside new Vault Hunters and features, the developer has revealed the lack of a minimap and how it changes the exploration. Of course, the two biggest questions on any fan’s mind are performance and balance.
Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford responded that it’s targetting 60 frames per second, presumably for consoles. He also said “F’ balance” and encouraged players to make “a sick build” and “melt bosses.” However, anyone who played Borderlands 3 will know of its constant nerfs and changes which often drove certain builds into the ground.
Regarding nerfs, Pitchford said that Graeme Timmins, creative director on the looter shooter, is “the guy who cleans up other people’s balance mess.” “With this game, he’s the one on top of the design for all shipping numbers and systems. It is inevitable that with so much loot and so many procedural combinations, there could be game-breaking drops that he may not have anticipated or that we may not have discovered yet.
“I am eager to see how Graeme will handle it. The case would have to be extremely rare and likely very strange for me to usurp his decision or come over the top of his authority. I trust Graeme’s justice to be fair and swift, even if, at times, it may be merciless.”
While this doesn’t guarantee that nerfs won’t happen, it indicates Pitchford’s faith in Timmins for the overall balance. As always, we’ll have to wait and see how things shake out, especially since the game’s Legendaries and end-game have yet to be fully detailed.
Borderlands 4 launches on September 12th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Pricing has yet to be announced, though Pitchford believes it could retail for $79.99.
