Gearbox software participated in PAX West 2024 reveal a collection of concept art and fresh details about the recently announced loot shooter sequel, Borderlands 4.
Each shot shows off fresh foreign locations for players to explore, while not revealing too much about how Borderlands 4 will shake up the formula. If there’s one takeaway from the concept art, it’s that Gearbox wants to give players a variety of areas to loot and shoot around in. One image shows a smoky, candle-lit room adorned with glowing blue lighting, while another shows a tiny neon town surrounded by snowy mountains. You can see some of what Borderlands 4 has to offer in the gallery below.
“The Borderlands universe is super interesting and there’s so much to explore,” said art director Adam May, describing concept art at PAX West. “It’s a post-apocalyptic world, but it’s in the distant future, so it’s high-tech but lo-fi. It opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities with what we can do with technology, our weapons, our characters, and the world in general.”
The Gearbox team is getting even more excited at PAX West. First up Borderlands 4 Trailer Revealed During Gamescom Opening Night Live earlier this month, it was confirmed to take place seconds after the end of Borderlands 3’s story. With fresh parts of its universe to explore, the team took the opportunity to incorporate technology in ways that hadn’t been touched on before.
“I can’t say much, but that has a lot to do with it,” May said. “A lot of things that we haven’t had a chance to play with much in the past are some of these high-tech things.”
He continued by joking that the Gearbox team had the opportunity to play with more technology and color than ever before, calling Borderlands 4 “the most diverse and beautiful game we’ve ever made.” A release date for Borderlands 4 has not been revealed, but the game is expected to launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2025. Gearbox still has a lot of work to do before it reveals more, so be sure to catch up on that in the meantime some of the more popular fan theories which appeared on the basis of the first trailer.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor to IGN. He began writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work on outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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