Fans of the Borderlands series are eagerly waiting for the release of Borderlands 4. The game developer, Gearbox Software, has announced the dates when this much-awaited looter-shooter will be released. Players of Xbox, PlayStation, and PC have September 12 marked in their calendars. But those who are playing the new Nintendo Switch 2 will have to wait a little while longer.
Gearbox Software has formally confirmed that Borderlands 4 will release on Nintendo’s next-gen console on October 3. That means Switch 2 players can wait a bit more than three weeks from launch to experience the action on Pandora and beyond. That’s just a staggered release. That kind of staggered release is common in gaming. Developers will have a bias to release games on the most popular platforms first, which means subsequent releases on others.
The wait for the Switch 2 version will be infuriating to some players. But it probably has more to do with technical and optimization issues. To produce a game with Borderlands’ scale and visual sheen for newer machinery, even if it is a sequel, is not an easy task. A polish and smoothness level must be met. Allowing additional time for making last-minute tweaks can be the difference for a hit release. Gearbox’s willingness to have a very high-quality product on each platform appears to be the underlying drive of this timing.
With September 12 looming on the horizon for console and PC gamers, the limelight will fall on the final gameplay teasers and system specs. For Switch 2 gamers, the wait should culminate in a refined experience befitting the series’ reputation. The soul and essence of Borderlands 4, with its distinctive art style, irreverent tone, and addictive loot mechanic, is still the priority, platform or release date aside.
