Today is the day for anyone who loves watching numbers fly out of people’s heads until they explode in a shower of loot. Borderlands 4 is nearly here, and if you’re practically turning into a psycho with excitement, Digital Tech Explorer is your go-to source to keep up with all the news and updates as the launch approaches.
Gearbox is promising more guns in Borderlands 4, a return to form for the writing and story, the most dynamic combat yet, and a more exciting open world exploration. At Digital Tech Explorer, we share some of the common questions and doubts: what does a good Borderlands story actually look like at this point? Is the endgame going to be robust enough to keep our interest? Or is it all just more of the same looter-shooter action?
It’s not long now before we’ll get to find out one way or the other—and as TechTalesLeo, I’ll be right here chronicling every development as it comes, so stay tuned to Digital Tech Explorer for the latest.
Get in the Mood with the Borderlands 4 Launch Week Trailer
In case you missed it, Gearbox released an explosive launch week trailer earlier this week. Packed with gleaming loot, gunfire, dancing, and general silliness, it certainly sets the tone. You can watch the official Borderlands 4 Launch Week Trailer on YouTube.
When Does Borderlands 4 Unlock?
You can find all the details in our Borderlands 4 release times guide here on Digital Tech Explorer, but to break it down, Borderlands 4 unlocks at the following times in various timezones:
- Los Angeles: 9 am PT on Thursday, September 11
- Chicago: 11 am CT on Thursday, September 11
- New York: 12 pm ET on Thursday, September 11
- London: 5 pm BST on Thursday, September 11
- Berlin: 6 pm CEST on Thursday, September 11
- Singapore: 12 am SGT on Friday, September 12
- Tokyo: 1 am JST on Friday, September 12
- Sydney: 2 am AEST on Friday, September 12
- Wellington: 4 am NZST on Friday, September 12
Picking Your Vault Hunter
Have you picked your Vault Hunter yet? As TechTalesLeo, I’m going to be playing Vex—what can I say, I always pick the Siren. If you’re still on the fence, we’re here to help. Check out our guide to picking your Borderlands 4 character on Digital Tech Explorer and avoid wasting time agonizing in the character select screen.
Looking Back on the Borderlands Series
While we wait for Borderlands 4, the Digital Tech Explorer team has been taking a nostalgic look back at the series. Our experts have ranked all the Borderlands games from worst to best, and I (TechTalesLeo) have taken on the slightly more pointless job of ranking all their musical intros. We’ve also made a case for Borderlands 3‘s often overlooked DLC, proving it’s still worth your time.
Borderlands 4 SHIFT Codes
Of course, the most important part of any Borderlands game isn’t just the story, or the characters, or the gunplay—it’s the SHIFT codes, magical little things that turn plain text into sparkling loot. You’ll want to make sure you understand how to get and redeem them ahead of the launch, especially as Gearbox is likely to start throwing them around like confetti to celebrate launch day.
Lucky for you, we’ve written up a full guide to Borderlands 4 SHIFT codes on Digital Tech Explorer, which we’ll be keeping updated with all the latest as it happens. And there’s even a reward you can get straight away—follow our step-by-step instructions, and you can redeem the Hazard Pay weapon skin on the Shift website ahead of the launch.
Digital Tech Explorer’s Borderlands 4 Review Status
The Borderlands 4 review embargo has lifted, but unfortunately, Digital Tech Explorer did not receive review code ahead of time from Gearbox. Like many of you, our team will be diving into Pandora at launch today, which means our in-depth review will follow shortly. Bear with us, as we’ll soon be rounding up the scores and reactions from across other major outlets!
Borderlands 4 Twitch Drops
It wouldn’t be a game launch these days without a unique Twitch promotion, and sure enough, you can earn a unique skin for your drone in Borderlands 4 just by watching streams. Check out our Borderlands 4 Twitch Drops guide on Digital Tech Explorer for more info.
Borderlands 4 Review Roundup
As Digital Tech Explorer also received our copy at launch, we’ve observed that several other major outlets are still working on their full reviews. Overall reception, however, appears largely positive, though not necessarily glowing:
- GameSpot: 7/10
- IGN: 8/10
- GamesRadar: 4/5
- TechRadar: 4.5/5
- Windows Central: 4/5
- Metro: 4/5
- VGC: 4/5
Borderlands 4 on Twitch
Keen to see the game in action? Now that the review embargo is up, streamers are free to show off the game on Twitch, and almost 85,000 people are already watching. Remember you can earn that Borderlands 4 Twitch Drop while you’re at it, too!
Early Performance Insights
Our comprehensive review roundup is now live, and the consensus does seem to be that the game is a significant course correction from Borderlands 3. However, for PC players, there’s some potentially troubling commentary emerging regarding the game’s performance issues.
Windows Central describes framerate dips and “intermittent zone loading,” and prior to the day one patch, experienced “some of the worst performance I’ve seen from a AAA game.”
IGN also reports experiencing “numerous bugs” and other technical issues. This, combined with the earlier discussions around the game’s recommended specs, paints a concerning picture of the game’s state at launch. Our team at Digital Tech Explorer will be conducting our own real-world tests on performance and will keep you in the loop as we gather more data from the general player base.
Reddit’s Already Sniffing Out SHIFT Codes
Don’t ask me how someone’s already worked this out, but there’s a SHIFT code hidden at the very end of the game’s credits, as a thank you for (ahem) watching them all the way through. It’s been posted on the game’s subreddit, and the full code is T9RJB-BFKRR-3RBTW-B33TB-KCZB9.
We’ll be adding that, and any other SHIFT codes we find, into our regularly updated Borderlands 4 SHIFT code guide here on Digital Tech Explorer.
Borderlands 4 Is Out Now!
Go forth and download—Borderlands 4 should now be unlocked on your platform of choice! The wait is over, Vault Hunters.
How to Build Your Vault Hunter
Already thinking about your endgame build? You’re not alone. Our team of experts at Digital Tech Explorer has put together comprehensive build guides for all four of Borderlands 4‘s Vault Hunters. So whether you’re going for the best Harlowe build, an awesome Amon build, a powerful Rafa build, or a killer Vex build, we’ve got you covered.
The Lack of Preloading
Anyone else really wishing Gearbox had allowed preloading for such a massive launch? The anticipation was almost unbearable!
Borderlands 4 Launch Trailer
Still waiting on that download? Here’s something else to pass the time—Gearbox has released a new cinematic launch day trailer, showing off all the Vault Hunters in action. Honestly, it’s a lot of light and noise, but it’s certainly packed with mayhem and destruction to get you into that Borderlands state of mind. You can watch the cinematic launch trailer on YouTube.
Borderlands 4 Facing Performance Challenges on Steam, Yet Player Count Soars
With a “mostly negative” rating out of the gate on Steam, Borderlands 4 is unfortunately taking a beating for its widespread performance issues at launch. Hundreds of reviews cite frequent performance dips and crashes, even on high-spec hardware. This aligns with Digital Tech Explorer’s own early testing, though Gearbox did issue a 2.7GB post-launch patch that helped reduce crashing for us. Despite these technical hurdles, the game is selling extremely well: Borderlands 4 is smashing the series’ previous Steam concurrent peaks (over 199,000 players as of this update).
Our hardware experts at Digital Tech Explorer have run Borderlands 4 through its paces, and unfortunately, they’ve confirmed that it’s contending with some serious performance problems, even on a super high-spec PC. We’ll continue to monitor updates and player experiences closely.