Gearbox SoftwareBorderlands 4 has arrived in explosive fashion, shattering the series’ previous Steam records within hours of launch.
The fourth entry in the franchise has stormed onto Steam with the biggest debut in the series’ history, peaking at 207,479 concurrent players on launch day. The figure more than doubles the previous record set by Borderlands 3, which reached just under 94,000 players at release on Steam after its six-month Epic Games Store exclusivity, leaving every other entry in the franchise behind.
That surge has also propelled Borderlands 4 into Steam’s top ten most-played games, where it currently sits in seventh place. The looter shooter now finds itself rubbing shoulders with the platform’s heavyweights, from Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, PUBG, and Hollow Knight: Silksong.
And that’s just on Steam. Borderlands 4 is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and is scheduled for release on Nintendo Switch 2 on October 3 – meaning the player count is likely already much higher.
Borderlands 4 is the most-played Borderlands game
Borderlands 4 also currently holds a Metacritic score of 84, making it one of the best-reviewed entries in the franchise and second only to Borderlands 2. Reviews have praised its refined gunplay, improved movement options like double jumps and grappling, and the expansive new world of Kairos, which adds verticality and variety to combat encounters.
Gearbox is already looking ahead to the future as the devs have released their post-launch roadmap, with the first major story pack, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, due in early 2026.
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SteamDBThe expansion promises a cosmic horror-inspired narrative, a brand-new Vault Hunter, and fresh zones to explore, along with the usual mix of missions, loot, and cosmetics that the series is known for.
Whether the player base holds steady in the weeks ahead remains to be seen, but with a slew of new paid and free content up for grabs, it certainly seems like Gearbox’s latest looter shooter has some legs.