Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford teased Borderlands 4 while reflecting on the terrible reception of the newly premiered Borderlands movie.

Gearbox Software Chief Executive Officer Randy Pitchford said that his studio is hard at work on Borderlands 4. This little teaser was part of the industry veteran’s reflection on the recently debuted Borderlands movie and its lackluster reception.
Borderlands 4 was officially confirmed to be in the works in late March 2024. The project was mentioned as part of Take-Two Interactive’s announcement that it acquired Gearbox from Embracer Group in a $460 million deal.
Gearbox CEO Teases Borderlands 4, Says He’s ‘Super Flattered’ With Poor Movie Reception
Some four months later, Lionsgate’s Borderlands movie hit the silver screens, debuting to an abysmal critical reception. Reflecting on this turn of events, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has recently taken to Twitter to say that he was “super flattered” to learn that the series’ fandom apparently likes the games even better than “what some of the biggest and best cast and crew of film makers [sic] on the planet have done.” The executive concluded this optimistic train of thought by promising that Gearbox is “working extra hard four you on what’s next,” with the misspelled preposition “for” being a clear reference to the fourth entry in the long-running franchise.
While some fans responded to Pitchford’s positivity in equal measure, others used his tweet as an opportunity to bemoan the decision to turn the Borderlands movie into what they perceive is a generic PG-13 action comedy rather than something that caters to the series’ fandom. Similar complaints have already been voiced en masse since the film’s premiere, and help explain why the Borderlands movie debuted with a rare 0% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes. As more reviews poured in over the last few days, its Tomatometer managed to climb to a still-meager 10%. Initial box office reports suggest that the film opened at under $10 million domestically against a $120 million budget.

Although the movie’s lackluster critical reception and box office bombing are unlikely to do the franchise any favors, that’s not to say that fans are no longer excited about the next Borderlands game. According to Google Trends data, worldwide search queries for “Borderlands 4” have more than tripled in August 2024 compared to the previous month.
Borderlands 4 May Still Be Years Away From Release
Take-Two’s March 2024 announcement merely mentioned that the fourth installment in the series is in active development, without clarifying when exactly it started this production phase, which nowadays takes at least five years for AAA games. Given that lack of information, Borderlands 4 could still be years away from release. And if Gearbox and 2K’s past marketing cycles are any indication, it is safe to assume that the game is at least 12 months away from hitting the market for as long as it remains unrevealed.