The Borderlands 4 release date is finally upon us, and I'm stoked — here's exactly when you can play at launch time and enjoy "the return of the looter-shooter king"

It's been quite a long time since we've had a new mainline Borderlands game on our hands (2022's spinoff Tiny Tina's Wonderlands was a great time, though), as the last title, Borderlands 3, released six years ago in 2019. Very soon, though, that's going to change thanks to the imminent release of Gearbox Software's latest entry in the series: Borderlands 4.

Featuring four new Vault Hunter characters to play as, a new campaign set on the world of Kairos in which you'll fight to free the planet from its tyrannical ruler, the Timekeeper, "billions of weapons, deadly enemies, and intense co-op action," Borderlands 4 stands poised to become one of this year's grandest and best new games once it launches.

Given how popular the looter-shooter franchise is in FPS, co-op, and RPG circles, there's tons of excitement surrounding this latest title — meaning that, as a result, tons of passionate fans are wondering when they can start playing it on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Nintendo Switch 2, and PS5.

Thankfully, in advance of its arrival, Gearbox and publisher 2K have announced the game's specific release dates and launch times. Officially, Borderlands 4 is scheduled to launch on September 11, 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET on PC, and on September 11, 9 p.m. PT / September 12, midnight on consoles.

Both the graphic and table below show the complete list of Borderlands 4's global release times across various time zones; note that while most located in Europe or west of it will be able to play on PC on September 11, access for everyone on all platforms will be open once September 12 rolls around.

Also, if you don't see your time zone here, you can use a converter like this one to figure out when the game is launching in your region.

When Borderlands 4 launches in just a few short days, it will represent the arrival of one of 2025's biggest landmark releases. Borderlands itself is often thought of as the series that birthed the looter shooter category as we know it; it wasn't the first game to blend FPS mechanics with loot systems borrowed from titles like Diablo, but it was the first one to weave the two together in the way we've come to know and appreciate the genre for today.

Previews of the game have been very positive, with my colleague Michael Hoglund even going so far as to call it "the pinnacle of any Borderlands experience" after he was able to get his hands on it for a while during a recent playtest. He went on to assert that Borderlands 4 "seems to be the return of the looter-shooter king."

Of course, an early hands-on experience doesn't speak to the game's long-term depth, but Gearbox has revealed extensive details about Borderlands 4's endgame to assure fans there will be plenty of reasons to keep playing over time. Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode is returning, for example, and will feature more difficult enemies and unique enemy variants in exchange for better, more rewarding drops.

There will also be contracts that encourage you to adventure far and wide across Kairos to complete weekly challenges, and a new feature called Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine that'll let you fight defeated bosses to farm them without reloading saves. Later in 2025, the developers will also add "Invincible" bosses; these will have extremely high health pools and lethal attacks, and will be the ultimate endgame challenge for hardcore players.

All in all, Borderlands 4 seems like it's going to be an excellent new entry I'm hyped to dive into, and something of a return to form after Borderlands 3's controversial reception. It remains to be seen if it can stick the landing with its humor and writing — the previous game failed to balance on the franchise's thin line between charming and cringe — but I hope it does, because I've always found Borderlands to be hilarious when it's written well.

The game's performance is also something to keep an eye on, given how demanding Borderlands 4's PC system requirements and recommended specs are. If you're planning to play on PC, but have a system that just barely meets the looter shooter's minimum requirements, you may want to wait until extensive testing has been done after launch before picking it up.

If you do decide to preorder Borderlands 4 or pick it up at launch, though, you can get it for $69.99 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Steam, Epic Games), Nintendo Switch 2, and PS5. Notably, the Steam version is about $10 off thanks to a deal that lets you snag it for just $60.69 at Loaded (formerly CDKeys).

Borderlands 4: was $69.99 now $60.69 at loaded.com

Lock and load to take down evil tyrants, blow up building-sized monsters, and loot the planet for the biggest guns in the universe in Borderlands 4.

Also at: Amazon (Xbox) | Best Buy (Xbox) | Walmart (Xbox) | CDKeys (PC) | GreenManGaming (Steam)

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