Borderlands 4 will not have a linear story and you will be able to progress as you see fit

In a style similar to that of Assassin's Creed Shadows, players will be able to choose how to enjoy the story of this fourth installment of Gearbox.

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The Borderlands saga continues to evolve, and with the fourth installment just around the corner, the developers at Gearbox are starting to reveal details about the new chapter. One of the most notable aspects is that the FPS story won’t be as linear as in previous chapters.

Instead of following a predetermined order, players will have the freedom to choose their own path in Borderlands 4, allowing them to decide in which order to complete the main missions.

Borderlands 4 Will Ditch Linear Missions

This new approach draws inspiration from the recent Assassin’s Creed Shadows, combining it with the possibility of exploring an open world with new movement mechanics, such as the “rastro”. Although it’s still early to determine just how much freedom the new adventure will offer, the premises are undoubtedly intriguing.

Taylor Clark, lead writer of Borderlands 4, has emphasized that the saga must continue to move forward and evolve, and that the creative team has ideas they want to express through this new installment.

Borderlands is almost old enough to drive. It would be weird if it weren’t constantly growing and adapting.

We’re a creative team, and we have ideas we want to express through Borderlands 4; ways in which we want to make it feel like we’re breaking new ground again.

This suggests that the team is committed to innovation and continuous improvement. Another aspect that will be interesting to see is how the difficulty balance will work, which could adapt to the player’s level to allow them the freedom to complete missions in any order they like.

Borderlands 4 will arrive on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC on September 12, and will later land on Nintendo Switch 2.