Borderlands 4 is just around the corner, and the question of whether it will be available on Xbox Game Pass is on the rise. Here’s what we know so far.
Borderlands 4 launches on September 12 for consoles and PC, and in October for the Nintendo Switch 2. Unfortunately, Xbox subscribers will have to sit this one out at launch. Since it’s not a first-party Xbox Game Studios title, a special agreement with publisher 2K would have been required for a Day-One release on Game Pass. Such a deal would likely have been announced well ahead of launch. So, if you want to play on day one, you’ll need to buy the game.
That doesn’t mean Game Pass is completely off the table. The franchise has shown willingness to join the service before: Borderlands 3 was available for several months, though not until years after release. Interestingly, just before the release of Borderlands 4, its predecessor has been removed from the catalog — possibly to push direct sales of the new game.
Still, fans should prepare for a long wait. With multiple DLCs planned over the coming years, it will likely take some time before Borderlands 4 makes its way to Game Pass. For now, the title is intended to be positioned as a premium experience.
Borderlands 4: Story and Setting
The story of Borderlands 4 picks up directly after the events of Borderlands 3. With Lilith sacrificing herself to save Pandora from destruction, her fate — and that of the moon Elpis — remains unresolved. In the new game, Elpis suddenly reappears at a mysterious new location: the prison planet Kairos. Kairos introduces a brand-new world divided into four distinct regions, each ruled by its own commander.
- Curious about the preload status of Borderlands 4? Find out more here.
On Kairos, four different factions are locked in a struggle for dominance. The Outbounders, led by Rush, are crash survivors who cannot escape the planet. The Augurs, under Calder, are descendants of miners who live reclusively in the mountains. The Electi, following Levain, are exiled former elites once living privileged city lives. Lastly, the Rippers, led by Callis, are wild rebels resisting cybernetic control.
