April 2025 State of Play Highlights Borderlands 4 Gameplay

The State of Play event for Borderlands 4 provided an exciting 20-minute official gameplay deep dive, showcasing new features and mechanics. This article delves into the fresh details revealed and explores fan theories about the game's shifted launch date.

Borderlands 4 State of Play: New Details Revealed

20-Minute Gameplay Deep Dive Video

The Borderlands 4 State of Play, streamed on April 30, 2025, offered a comprehensive look at the upcoming looter shooter. The gameplay video highlighted two of the four new Vault Hunters: Vex the Siren, who harnesses supernatural phase energy to empower herself and summon deadly minions, and Rafa the Exo-Soldier, a former Tediore trooper equipped with an experimental exo-suit that can digistruct various weapons.

The setting of the new planet, Kairos, was introduced, featuring warring factions, deadly fauna, and desperate inhabitants under the oppressive rule of the Timekeeper. Players are tasked with igniting a revolution against this tyrant, meeting unique factions and recruiting them to their cause. Familiar characters like Claptrap, Moxxi, and Zane return to assist in this quest.

New gameplay mechanics were also showcased, including the innovative licensed Parts system, which allows players to customize weapon behaviors and abilities, new Gear slots for more specialized builds, and the introduction of the Digirunner vehicle for enhanced mobility and combat.

Gearbox Denies Launch Date Change is Influenced by Other Games

Prior to the State of Play, Gearbox Software announced that Borderlands 4 would be released two weeks earlier than initially planned. The studio attributed this change to the "incredible development work" on the game. However, fans speculated that this adjustment might be influenced by the release schedule of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6), especially given that both Gearbox Software and Rockstar Games are subsidiaries of Take-Two Interactive.

During Take-Two Interactive's earnings call in November 2024, the company confirmed plans to release GTA 6 in Fall 2025. CEO Strauss Zelnick assured that this timing would not conflict with Borderlands 4's planned release window within Take-Two's 2026 fiscal year. In an interview with Variety, Zelnick emphasized that the company would not intentionally schedule major releases to overlap.

Addressing these speculations, Gearbox Entertainment CEO Randy Pitchford used Twitter (X) on April 30 to clarify that the early release of Borderlands 4 was solely due to confidence in the game's quality, stating, "Our decision is literally 0% about any other product’s actual or theoretical launch date."

Regardless of the reasons behind the launch date change, fans can look forward to experiencing Borderlands 4 sooner than anticipated. The game is now set to launch on September 12, 2025, across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. For the latest updates on Borderlands 4, keep an eye on our ongoing coverage.