Gearbox surprises the industry with affordable Borderlands 4 price tag

GAMING NEWS Fyra Frost - 18-Jun-2025, 3:00 pm

In a surprising twist amid an era of rising game costs, Gearbox Software has revealed that Borderlands 4 will launch at a price significantly lower than many had anticipated. The Standard Edition of the long-awaited title will cost $69.99 bucking the recent industry trend of $80+ pricing for major AAA releases.

Against the tide

This announcement comes as a pleasant surprise to fans, especially following weeks of heated debate triggered by a controversial comment from Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford. In May, Pitchford stirred backlash when he referenced paying $80 for games in the early '90s, implying that devoted fans should be willing to do the same today. The remark was met with swift criticism, with many gamers calling it out of touch in light of inflation and modern economic pressures. Pitchford later walked back his statement, clarifying that he wasn't the sole decision-maker on pricing and that he didn't want fans to spend more than they felt comfortable with. The clarification did little to calm the community at the time, but now, the new price announcement has flipped the narrative.

The $69.99 tag for Borderlands 4 is particularly notable given that the game reportedly had double the development budget of Borderlands 3. Despite higher production costs, Gearbox and publishing partner 2K Games have opted to maintain what is now considered a modest base price in today's AAA market. Deluxe and Super Deluxe Editions of the game will still cater to premium-tier players, priced at $99.99 and $129.99 respectively. These versions include added content like expansion passes and exclusive in-game cosmetics. Pre-orders are already live, and players who jump in early will receive the Gilded Glory Pack, which features bonus cosmetics and weapon skins.

The timing of this announcement feels strategic. With Borderlands 4 set to release on September 12, 2025, Gearbox is building momentum just ahead of the upcoming Borderlands Fan Fest set for June 21, where more gameplay details and narrative teasers are expected to drop. The game will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, with a version for Nintendo Switch 2 arriving later.

Ultimately, this decision feels like a calculated pivot to rebuild trust with fans and signal that big-budget games don't always have to come with equally massive price tags. Whether other developers follow suit remains to be seen, but for now, Borderlands 4 is leading the charge toward a more balanced pricing model in the next generation of games. Of course, if you want to get your copy of the game at the best price, you should use our comparator to find the best deals for Borderlands 4 on your platform of choice.