Gearbox Software has shared an update on the development of Borderlands 4, revealing that they are “confident” that their upcoming looter shooter will surpass Borderlands 3. Randy Pitchford, the head of the company, has been interacting with fans on Twitter through polls, trying to identify the factors they consider most important in defining a “better” game. However, his findings have sparked an interesting debate within the community.
Borderlands 2 is a bigger game, in the minds of players
In the surveys, fans expressed that they value “high play hours” above other criteria. Despite this, Pitchford noted an interesting point: players considered Borderlands 2 to be a “bigger” game than Borderlands 3, even though statistics show a higher average playtime in the third title. The developer explained that the perception of playtime is influenced by extremes, where some players only spend a few minutes and others hundreds of hours, complicating the evaluation.
“We shouldn’t focus only on time; what matters is relativity,” Pitchford argued, who also acknowledges that individual tastes vary and that the entertainment experience is subjective. However, the results of their surveys suggest that Borderlands 3 could be considered “better” than Borderlands 2 according to the criteria of the respondents.
Regarding Borderlands 4, Pitchford concluded that “by any standard we have considered, we are confident that Borderlands 4 is turning out to be better than Borderlands 3 in all the measurements we have, including the subjective ones.” Franchise fans will have to wait to verify these claims, as Borderlands 4 is scheduled to be released on September 12, arriving 11 days earlier than originally expected.
