We don’t know much about Borderlands 4 yet other than it’s expected to release in 2025, which we know could change to 2026 if there are issues to address behind schedule in development. The terminally ill fan wasn’t sure if he would still be around by then, so he reached out to the community and Gearbox in hopes of playing an early version.
37-year-old player Caleb McAlpine published on October 23 about his late-stage terminal cancer diagnosis, indicating that he would be lucky to have “less than 2 years” in case chemotherapy helps, or less if the cancer continues to progress rapidly. His only wish? Playing Borderlands 4 early, no matter what stage of development it is currently in. He admitted it was a “long shot,” but both the community and Gearbox were quick to agree.
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By IGNwe learned that his post went viral “with over 19,000 upvotes on Reddit alone” and eventually reached Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford, who promised to “make something happen.” Let’s go to November 26 and Caleb thanked everyone for the opportunityalso showing some photos from his trip to the Gearbox headquarters.
“Caleb is cool – a legitimate player who knows Borderlands inside and out. I’m glad he got the chance to play. I pray he does it when we’re done. Thanks, boarder, for the signal to reinforce Caleb’s story.” Pitchford added with its own sequel on X/Twitter. The official Gearbox account also commented on his visit: “We are deeply grateful to the Borderlands community for rallying around Caleb after he shared his story a few weeks ago. His courage, strength and determination are an inspiration to us all.”
As part of his post-visit post, Caleb added that what Gearbox had so far was “amazing” and that he and one friend enjoyed a tour of Gearbox after they arrived first class. Of course, they both had to sign an NDA, so the rest of us will be wondering for a while whether the studio will opt for the more realistic art style announced in the CG trailer, or a plain cartoonish look.
In any case, this is the uplifting news the Borderlands community needed after an utterly terrible live-action movie released this summer flopped, and 2019’s otherwise quite decent Borderlands 3 failed to impress with its narrative and fell tiny of current standards shooting games. It’s also a good reminder of what gaming is ultimately about and how crucial it is for the medium to support a robust online environment.
We sincerely hope that Caleb will still be with us when the game launches and that he’ll be able to open plenty of loot and weapon crates along with the rest of the lovely, eager-to-use Borderlands community.
