Gearbox Shares First Borderlands 4 Concept Art And Vault Hunter Details

Summary

• Borderlands has been the subject of both good and bad news over the past few weeks, but there is finally some good news to be had.
• After announcing Borderlands 4 at Gamescom, Gearbox revealed more about the game at a PAX West panel.
• Yes, there will be four Vault Hunters, as is tradition.
• Four pieces of concept art were also revealed, showcasing a very neon-like aesthetic.

For one reason or the other, Borderlands has been in the news a lot more than usual as of late. Whether it's because the Borderlands live-action movie absolutely bombed at the box office, or due to Randy Pitchford comparing himself to The Beatles, the long-running looter shooter franchise has been the subject of discourse for good and bad reasons.

The Borderlands Movie Was Always A Bad Idea

When you take away the gameplay and the art style, you're only really left with the obnoxious humor.

However, not all things are bad on the planet of Pandora. That's because at Gamescom Opening Night Live, Borderlands 4 was finally revealed, and was given a 2025 launch date.

Nearly two weeks later, and we finally have more details about the sequel to 2019's Borderlands 3, including some pretty sweet concept art. That information comes by way of a PAX West panel, where Gearbox Software was on hand to share more about its upcoming title.

Yes, There Will Be Four Vault Hunters

As is series tradition, Borderlands 4 will have four brand-new Vault Hunters for players to choose from. That said, Gearbox is dedicated to exploring the kind of fantasies that players have when it comes to the Vault Hunters.

"When we look at the Vault Hunters, the first thing that we always try to look at is 'what are some fundamental promises and fantasies that players might have that we want to explore?'" creative director Graeme Timmins said, per a GamesRadar transcription.

To that end, when designing a Vault Hunter, the team tries to strike a balance between complex and easy systems. "Just like our first-person side, where we're always looking to expand and add depth, we're doing that on the RPG side, but we don't want to do that at the cost of complexity," Timmins opined. "I always look at our characters and [try to] understand, between their action skills, how much management might be happening when you press the action skill button."

Beyond detailing Vault Hunters, four pieces of concept art were also shared. They don't show much, but it's clear that there is a neon-like aesthetic prevalent. That would make sense given that the Steam store page references "secret alien treasure" as part of the game's plot.

Finally, there is some positive news surrounding Borderlands, and it could not come at a more opportune time.

Borderlands 4 Can’t Just Be More Borderlands

After a disatrous film adaptation and three very similar mainline games, 4 is an opportunity for Borderlands to evolve.