After three mainline outings, Borderlands 4 seems set to shake up the formula — aesthetically, at least. Developer Gearbox Software has unveiled four new concept art pieces for its upcoming looter-shooter sequel, following a surprise announcement at Gamescom 2024.
Each visual offers a glimpse of new foreign locations that lean into a cyberpunk flair, including a small town soaked in neon colours and a smokey room with a greenish hue. Alongside the tantalising, fresh look, more details about its presentation were also shared, promising to deliver the “most diverse and beautiful game” the studio has ever made.
“The Borderlands universe is super interesting and there is so much to get to play with,” said art director Adam May on the concept images revealed at PAX West 2024. “It is a post-apocalyptic world but in the distant future, so it’s like high-tech but lo-fi. It creates all kinds of interesting opportunities with what we can do with tech, our weapons, our characters, and [the] world in general.”
Notably, this means fans will be looting and shooting through many different environments — much like in Borderlands 3, but presumably with more variety. These new locales allow technology to be explored in a way that hasn’t been done in the previous entries too, so expect more tech and colour than ever before.
“I can’t say much, but this has a lot to do with it here,” he added. “A lot of the things we haven’t had much of a chance to play with too much in the past is some of that high technology stuff.”
Borderlands 4 is currently slated for a 2025 release. Taking place seconds after the conclusion of Borderlands 3‘s story, it sees players assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they blast their way through hordes of enemies in search of new treasures to loot on an all-new planet.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
Trinity Sun
