Release Times, When You Can Start Playing, And Everything Else You Need To Know

Borderlands 4 is back, and as our review outlines, it’s the recentering of the classic looter shooter series needed after the last game divided the fanbase in 2019. Borderlands 4 still has the four-player co-op antics and wild weapon variety the series is known for (30 billion of them this time around, to be exact), and adds some new wrinkles to the formula, like a seamless open world and crossplay.

In short, it seems Gearbox has brought things back to the glory days of Borderlands 2, and expanded on those core ideas thanks to today’s technology. According to Gearbox Software’s Randy Pitchford, Borderlands 4 finally makes good on everything the developer wanted to do with the series right from the beginning.

Ahead of its highly anticipated launch, let’s take a look at everything you need to know before landing on the planet of Kairos.

When Does Borderlands 4 Release?

Borderlands 4 is set to release Sept. 12, 2025. It’s launching on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. And while there was a bit of controversy earlier this year regarding how much the planet-trotting adventure will cost players, the game is launching at $70.

Developer Gearbox Software has confirmed that a Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game is in development, but they have not announced a release date.

Will There Be Crossplay In Borderlands 4?

Borderlands 4 will be the first game in the series to feature crossplay, allowing Vault Hunters to play together regardless of their preferred platform. To take part, players must connect their online username to a Shift account, a service that will unify the player base under one umbrella. It will also be how players redeem in-game rewards down the line.

For those not playing online, it’s worth noting that Borderlands 4 includes two-player couch co-op for console players.

What Time Can You Start Playing Borderlands 4?

As most modern games do, Borderlands 4 is rolling out access to players on release day. For the majority of console players, the game will be playable starting at midnight in their respective countries. The only exception will be U.S. players on the West Coast, as they’ll get to jump in at 9 p.m.

Those playing on PC, on the other hand, will get a pretty big advantage over their console counterparts. The game will be accessible starting 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET on Sept. 11. The game will be available at the same time around the world, respective to the U.S. launch times.

Borderlands 4 will not have an early access period. Regardless of which version of the game you get, you’ll be jumping in at the same time as everyone else.

Are There Special Editions Of Borderlands 4?

There are three versions of Borderlands 4 available at launch. The standard edition, the Deluxe Edition, and the Super Deluxe Edition.

The Deluxe Edition includes the base game, as well as four unique areas on the map, four vault cards, four special edition vehicles, and exclusive gear, weapons, Vault Hunter cosmetics, and a Firehawk Fury weapon skin. The Deluxe Edition is $100.

The Super Deluxe Edition comes with everything in the Deluxe edition, as well as two additional vault hunters to play as, two story packs with included side missions, more exclusive gear, weapons, and 13 additional skins. The Super Deluxe Edition goes for $130.

What are the PC requirements for Borderlands 4?

As expected, Borderlands 4 is a very good-looking game. It’s still rocking the faux-comic book, cel-shaded visuals that popularized the series right from its humble beginnings in 2010. That look will come at a cost for PC players, though, as you’ll need to meet the hardware requirements to get it to shine the way developer Gearbox Software intended.

The developers recommend a rig with an Intel Core i7-12700 or AMD Ryzen 5800X processor, 32 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, or Intel Arc B580 graphics card, and at least 100 GB of storage.

However, if you’re rocking a slightly older system, Gearbox confirmed that you can run the game with some lower-specced hardware. An Intel Core i7-9700 or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processor will get the job done. An NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, or Intel Arc A580 graphics card will run the game. And on the RAM front, the game requires at least eight CPU Cores for processing and 8 GB VRAM for graphics.

For a proper breakdown of what graphics settings players will get to mess with once the game is out, check out Gearbox’s in-depth breakdown on their website here.

Will Borderlands 4 Be Available On Game Pass?

Borderlands 4 will not launch on Xbox’s subscription service, nor any other gaming subscription service.