When I first booted up Borderlands 4 last month, my palms were sweaty with a mix of excitement and skepticism. Could Gearbox really redeem the franchise after Borderlands 3's lukewarm reception and that disastrous movie adaptation? The initial sales numbers whispered 'yes' – nearly 3 million copies sold in under two weeks across Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. But as I dived into the chaotic beauty of Kairos, I couldn't shake one nagging thought: Why did it take seven years for this franchise to find its footing again?
Honestly? The gunplay hooked me instantly. That satisfying thunk when my customized Peacebreaker cannon disintegrated a skag never gets old. And the builds! Remember how Borderlands 3 made you choose between fun and functionality? Here, my broken Rafa build actually feels... intentional? Like Gearbox winked at us min-maxers:
- 🤯 83 Metacritic score (2 points higher than BL3)
- 🔫 300k+ concurrent Steam players at launch
- 💰 $150 million revenue already for 2K
Yet those PC performance issues at launch nearly broke me. Who thought launching with that glitchy minimap was acceptable? I spent hours wandering Kairos' gorgeous but confusing landscapes like a drunk bandit:
| Franchise Comparison | Borderlands 3 (2019) | Borderlands 4 (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| First 5 Days Sales | 5+ million | ~2.5 million |
| Steam Peak Players | 93k | 300k |
| Fan Sentiment | 😕 Post-BL2 hype crash | 😮 Redemption arc |
Which makes you wonder - did that disastrous movie actually help? By setting expectations so low, every quality moment in BL4 feels like finding a legendary loot drop in a trash bin! Still, I can't ignore the elephant in the room: Why's it selling slower than BL3? Maybe we're all still traumatized by Claptrap's cringe-worthy BL3 dialogue. Or perhaps after seven years, some vault hunters simply... moved on?
The real magic happens when you stop comparing and just play. That moment when:
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My Moze-inspired mech suit crushed a raid boss
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The writing actually made me laugh (not cringe!)
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Kairos revealed its verticality - caves within canyons within floating islands
And now Switch 2 drops October 3rd. Portable Pandora? Take my money! Maybe we'll hit 5 million copies by Halloween. But here's what keeps me up at night: If a game this good still trails its predecessor commercially, what does that say about us players? Have we become too cynical? Too distracted? Or did Gearbox simply forget how starved we were for loot shooters back in 2019?
As I log off tonight, watching meteor showers streak across Kairos' triple-moon sky, that initial skepticism feels like ancient history. The guns are louder, the jokes land, and for the first time in years... I'm excited about Borderlands again. Funny how 2.5 million copies sold can feel simultaneously triumphant and concerning. But maybe that's the point - great art doesn't need record-breaking sales to validate its worth. It just needs to make one vault hunter smile while blowing up skags. Mission accomplished, Gearbox. Mission accomplished. 🔫💥