While Borderlands 4 is slated for release on September 12, and will be coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, neither developer Gearbox nor publisher 2K has confirmed how much the game will end up priced at. And with all the recent events, with upcoming first-party Switch 2 and Xbox games being priced at $80, speculation has started about the price for Borderlands 4. Responding to a social media user about whether or not Borderlands 4 will be sold at an $80 price tag, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford said that it is “not my call.”
He also goes on to say that real fans of the Borderlands franchise would figure out a buy it anyway, regardless of how much the game would be priced at. To hammer his point further, Pitchford also brings up Sega Genesis title Starflight being priced at $80 back in 1991, with him having to save up money from a minimum wage job to get his hands on the game.
“If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen,” posted Pitchford. “My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.”
This post by Pitchford hasn’t been received kindly in its replies. Several fans of Borderlands have responded to this by making fun of Pitchford’s attempt to gatekeep being a fan of the franchise based on how much disposal income a person might have. Others have also pointed out that quite a few places all over the world are going through economic troubles, which makes spending money on an $80 title even less feasible.
Earlier this month during a panel at PAX East, Pitchford also spoke about Borderlands 4, referring to its world as “by far the biggest universe that we’ve built.” He also said that exploration in the in-game setting of Kairos will be “seamless”, saying that “there’s no load times.”
“You see something anywhere on the screen, a mile away, up in the sky, you will be able to get there,” he said, explaining that things on the horizon aren’t just flat assets for the sake of decorating a skybox. Rather, players will be able to visit those far-off places they can see, and will maybe even end up finding something cool.
Pitchford has also revealed why Borderlands 4 won’t include a minimap. The decision was made to give players just a compass instead in order to emphasise exploration and navigation in a world that will be larger than we’ve seen in previous games in the franchise.
“A lot of the things you do can be local space, but a lot of the things you do or want to do are out there, and a local space map is not a good way to navigate when you’re thinking about objectives and opportunities – several at the same time that might be miles away – and a compass really helps us do that,” said Pitchford.
