Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has asserted that publisher 2K remains dedicated to the continued development and support of Borderlands 4, despite ongoing discussions within the player community regarding its commercial performance and future content. Zelnick emphasized that the game's reception has not deterred the company from its long-term plans for the title.
As Borderlands 4 approaches the end of its first year, some players have expressed uncertainty about the extent of future downloadable content, particularly concerning a potential roadmap for 2026 and beyond. The developer, Gearbox, has yet to officially announce any post-launch content plans for the second year, leading to speculation about whether the studio might shift focus to a new project or the next installment in the series.
Publisher 2K is set to release Story Pack 2, featuring a new Vault Hunter named Loveless the Hacker, in September. This pack will launch concurrently with Bounty Pack 5 and a Version 1.10 update. While this addresses immediate content needs, it does not clarify Gearbox's strategy for the period following these releases.
In a recent interview, Zelnick directly addressed concerns about Borderlands 4's performance influencing future support. "Performance has not affected our plans at all," he stated. "We have another Borderlands [content pack] coming. We continue to support the title. We've had plenty of incremental releases of content. So no, we're totally supporting it. We're thrilled with the performance, and thrilled with the reviews and the scores."
Borderlands 4 has experienced a turbulent first year, marked by significant PC performance issues that drew considerable player criticism. Despite CEO Randy Pitchford's public engagement with complaints on social media, these technical problems reportedly impacted sales. Zelnick previously acknowledged "a little bit of softness" in sales due to these issues but expressed confidence in eventual recovery. A planned Nintendo Switch 2 version was also canceled, with Take-Two citing Gearbox's focus on improving the game on its current platforms.
On Steam, Borderlands 4 holds a 'mixed' user review rating. While the game saw an initial peak of over 300,000 concurrent players on the platform, its average concurrent player count has since dropped to the low thousands. Although Steam figures do not represent the complete player base, as the game is also available on consoles, these numbers suggest a need for renewed player engagement.
The upcoming release of Story Pack 2 and Loveless the Hacker aims to revitalize interest in the game. The previous Story Pack 1, which introduced the playable character C4SH, did not significantly boost concurrent player numbers on Steam. Both Gearbox and Take-Two will be hoping that the new character and content will have a more substantial impact on the game's ongoing player base.