Summary
Gearbox Software Chief Executive Officer Randy Pitchford said that his studio is hard at work onBorderlands 4. This little teaser was part of the industry veteran’s reflection on the recently debutedBorderlandsmovie and its lackluster reception.
Borderlands 4was officially confirmed to be in the worksin late March 2024. The project was mentioned as part of Take-Two Interactive’s announcement that it acquired Gearbox from Embracer Group in a $460 million deal.
Gearbox CEO Teases Borderlands 4, Says He’s ‘Super Flattered’ With Poor Movie Reception
Some four months later,Lionsgate’sBorderlandsmovie hit the silver screens, debuting to an abysmal critical reception. Reflecting on this turn of events, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has recently taken to Twitter to say that he was “super flattered” to learn that the series' fandom apparently likes the games even better than “what some of the biggest and best cast and crew of filmmakers [sic] on the planet have done.” The executive concluded this optimistic train of thought by promising that Gearbox is “working extra hard four you on what’s next,” with the misspelled preposition “for” being a clear reference to the fourth entry in the long-running franchise.
While some fans responded to Pitchford’s positivity in equal measure, others used his tweet as an opportunity to bemoan the decision to turn theBorderlandsmovie into what they perceive is a generic PG-13 action comedy rather than something that caters to the series' fandom. Similar complaints have already been voiced en masse since the film’s premiere and help explain why theBorderlandsmovie debuted with a rare 0% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes. As more reviews poured in over the last few days, its Tomatometer managed to climb to a still-meager 10%. Initial box office reports suggest that the film opened at under $10 million domestically against a $120 million budget.
Although the movie’s lackluster critical reception and box office bombing are unlikely to do the franchise any favors, that’s not to say that fans are no longer excited about the nextBorderlandsgame. According to Google Trends data, worldwide search queries for “Borderlands 4” have more than tripled in August 2024 compared to the previous month.
Borderlands 4 May Still Be Years Away From Release
Take-Two’s March 2024 announcement merely mentioned that the fourth installment in the series is in active development without clarifying when exactly it started this production phase, which nowadays takes at least five years for AAA games. Given that lack of information,Borderlands 4could still be years away from release. And if Gearbox and 2K’s past marketing cycles are any indication, it is safe to assume that the game is at least 12 months away from hitting the market for as long as it remains unrevealed.
Borderlands
Borderlands is an action RPG first-person shooter created by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. The series is commonly called a looter shooter set in a space Western style, where players can select from multiple classes that can level up and acquire new skills. The franchise has quickly become one of the best-selling franchises and produced spin-offs like Tales from the Borderlands as well as a film adaptation being developed by Lionsgate.
