Since its inception, the Borderlands franchise has been well-known for its use of dark and absurd humor. The mainline trilogy and spin-offs have all used this style when players descend into its universe full of wacky villains and creative weaponry. However, the next game in the series may be taking a different route or at least toning the crassness down.
Borderlands 4 was officially unveiled by Gearbox Software during The Game Awards 2024 ceremony last week, and fans have noticed that both it and the original teaser showed more serious vibes than previous games. Questions directed at Borderland 4's narrative director, Sam Winkler, have revealed this to be an intentional decision.
When asked if Borderlands 4 will go for a more dark humor vibe instead of "fart jokes this time around" by a fan, Winkler responded by saying that, "not at liberty to talk much about the content of BL4, but I remain firm in my criticism of BL3's overabundance of toilet humor."
Sam Winkler has previously written for the fan favorite Borderlands 2, Borderlands 3, and the fantasy spin-off Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, all at Gearbox.
Winkler even responded later to a joke message from a fan asking if players will be able to "use the poop poop farty 4000 while doing a mission to clean up porta-potties with my companion skibidi toilet":
I’m not gonna say there’s no toilets but if the word skibidi ships in the game under my watch I’m gonna cry real tears. Paul Tassi joked that we were gonna have a gun called Hawk 2A and a fellow dev asked me if it was real and I wanted to put my hand down the sink grinder
— Sam Winkler (@ThatSamWinkler) December 16, 2024
Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford is calling Borderlands 4 the "biggest and most insane world we’ve ever made." The title has players entering a new planet in the sci-fi universe that's said to be its most dangerous ever. It features a new villain, new factions, and a massive range of (described as "billions") over-the-top weaponry for looting.
Borderlands 4 is releasing across PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 sometime in 2025.
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