Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 on PC is a first-person looter shooter and action RPG set on the dangerous planet Kairos. Its current storefront name remains Borderlands 4 on Steam and the Epic Games Store; there is no verified rebrand or replacement edition. Gearbox Software develops the game, while 2K publishes it.

The base game combines fast gunplay, character builds, open-world exploration, and cooperative progression. You can play alone or join up to four players online, with cross-platform multiplayer available through SHiFT account connectivity.

Gunplay, movement, and the Kairos campaign

Borderlands 4 keeps the series' first-person perspective but gives traversal a larger role in combat and exploration. Vault Hunters can double jump, glide, dodge, and grapple, creating more ways to reach elevated positions, evade attacks, and move between objectives.

The core loop is straightforward but deep: explore a region, complete story missions and side activities, fight hostile factions and creatures, collect better equipment, then adjust your build around the strongest combination of weapons, skills, and gear effects. Encounters are designed around movement and ability timing rather than a slow cover-shooter rhythm.

Kairos is presented as a seamless world with contrasting environments, including fields, mountains, and deserts. A hover bike helps you cross larger spaces, while dynamic events, quests, collectibles, and optional objectives give exploration a purpose beyond reaching the next campaign mission.

The story places four new Vault Hunters against the Timekeeper, a dictator who controls Kairos through the Order. The campaign supports both solo progression and cooperative play, with level scaling and individual difficulty options intended to keep players at different progression points involved in the same session.

Four Vault Hunters, three skill trees each

The launch roster contains Vex the Siren, Rafa the Exo-Soldier, Amon the Forgeknight, and Harlowe the Gravitar. Each character has a separate combat identity, multiple Action Skills, and three skill trees that support different build directions.

• Vex focuses on Siren abilities, status effects, and supernatural combat tools.
• Rafa uses exo-soldier technology, firearms, and deployable combat equipment.
• Amon combines heavy armor, Forgeaxes, and close-range force with defensive abilities.
• Harlowe manipulates gravity, stasis, and elemental effects through her Gravitar toolkit.

Action Skills are only one part of character construction. Skill trees, passives, Augments, Class Mods, Firmware, weapons, shields, grenades, and Ordnance can all interact, giving experienced players room to build around critical hits, elemental damage, melee attacks, summons, crowd control, or ability cooldowns.

The result is a more deliberate buildcrafting game than a simple weapon-collection shooter. A gun's value depends on its manufacturer traits, secondary effects, and relationship with the rest of your loadout. Dedicated players can continue refining those interactions through higher difficulty tiers, specialized loot, and repeatable endgame activities.

Progression beyond the campaign

Borderlands 4 is structured around a campaign followed by a long-term mastery loop. Story missions establish the main route through Kairos, while side missions, faction encounters, map activities, bosses, challenges, and collectible hunts provide additional sources of experience and gear.

After the campaign, Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode adds escalating challenge levels and dedicated loot progression. True Mode independently scales enemies as though the session contains four players, making it an option for solo or small-party players who want tougher encounters without simply adding teammates.

Weekly activities, Vault Cards, repeatable missions, raid-style encounters, and high-level loot targets give the endgame a rotating structure. Photo Mode is also available during gameplay, with camera, focus, time-of-day, and visibility controls for capturing Kairos and its combat effects.

This progression model suits players who enjoy testing builds against stronger enemies rather than stopping when the campaign credits roll. It is less suitable for anyone looking for a short, self-contained shooter with little inventory management or post-campaign optimization.

What the PC editions actually contain

The standard PC purchase contains the base game, the four core Vault Hunters, the Kairos campaign, solo play, online co-op, and the regular progression systems. Borderlands 4 is a paid game rather than a free-to-play product.

The current paid content structure is divided into the Bounty Pack Bundle and the Vault Hunter Pack. The Bounty Pack Bundle covers five post-launch Bounty Pack releases, with mission content, bosses, Vault Card rewards, weapons, cosmetics, vehicles, and other gear-focused additions.

The Vault Hunter Pack covers two additional playable characters and two Story Packs. Current content includes C4SH the Rogue, Loveless the Hacker, and story-driven regions and missions such as Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned and FL4K and the Last Resort.

The Deluxe Edition includes the base game, Bounty Pack Bundle, and Firehawk's Fury Weapon Skin. The Super Deluxe Edition adds the Vault Hunter Pack and Ornate Order Pack. Cosmetic packs and the Gilded Glory Pack are separate items, so buyers should compare the included product list rather than assume every store bundle contains the same content.

Players who prefer the previous game's character roster and extensive campaign add-ons can compare the edition structure with the large-scale campaign and build progression of Borderlands 3, but Borderlands 4's current package is organized around separate Bounty and Vault Hunter content groups.

PC platform details, controls, and online play

Borderlands 4 is available on Windows PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. Both storefronts identify single-player, co-op, controller support, and cross-platform play. Steam lists Denuvo third-party DRM and requires agreement to a third-party EULA; the Epic version requires an Epic ID for account access.

Online play requires an internet connection. Crossplay requires a SHiFT Account, allowing PC players to join supported console players rather than being restricted to their own storefront. The game is designed for up to four players online, with drop-in and drop-out cooperation, shared missions, level scaling, and individual difficulty settings.

Native console split-screen is documented for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The PC storefront listings emphasize online co-op rather than native local split-screen, so PC players should not treat couch co-op as a standard PC feature.

Keyboard and mouse are appropriate for precision aiming, while the storefronts also confirm full controller support. Steam Input and platform controller options make the PC version flexible for players who prefer a gamepad, especially when driving the hover bike or playing from a living-room setup.

Localization is broad. Epic lists full audio in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese. Text and subtitle support additionally covers Traditional Chinese, Thai, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Latin American Spanish, and Polish.

Who should play Borderlands 4?

Borderlands 4 is a strong fit for players who want an action-heavy co-op campaign, constant equipment upgrades, flexible skill trees, and a post-campaign build chase. It also works for solo players who enjoy switching between Vault Hunters and experimenting with different combat identities.

The game is less appealing if you dislike loot sorting, repeated boss encounters, ability cooldown management, or paid expansion structures. Its strongest systems become more valuable when you are willing to compare item effects and rebuild your character around new discoveries.

Fans of fantasy shooting and class combinations may also enjoy the spell-and-gun action RPG structure of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, although Borderlands 4 returns to a science-fiction setting and places greater emphasis on movement, vehicles, and open-world traversal.

Borderlands 4 FAQ

Has Borderlands 4 been renamed on PC?

No verified rebrand has replaced the title. Steam and the Epic Games Store continue to list the current product as Borderlands 4. Deluxe and Super Deluxe are package names, not new official game titles.

Is Borderlands 4 free to play?

No. The base game is sold as a paid PC title. Additional Story Packs, Bounty Packs, Vault Cards, Vault Hunters, and cosmetic items are distributed through separate purchases or larger editions.

How many players can join Borderlands 4 online?

Online co-op supports up to four players. Cross-platform play allows PC players to team up with players on supported console platforms, but crossplay requires a SHiFT Account and an internet connection.

Does Borderlands 4 have PC split-screen?

The documented split-screen mode is for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. PC storefront listings focus on online co-op and do not advertise native local split-screen.

What are the four starting Vault Hunters?

The four core Vault Hunters are Vex the Siren, Rafa the Exo-Soldier, Amon the Forgeknight, and Harlowe the Gravitar. Each has three skill trees and a distinct Action Skill toolkit.

Does the PC version support controllers?

Yes. Steam and Epic list controller support, alongside keyboard-and-mouse play on Windows PC.

Which PC launcher does Borderlands 4 use?

You can play through Steam or the Epic Games Store. Steam lists Denuvo third-party DRM, while the Epic version requires an Epic ID. Crossplay uses SHiFT account connectivity across supported platforms.