Gearbox says Borderlands series has sold more than 100 million units

The Borderlands series has passed 100 million units sold across all games, Gearbox Software announced Nov. 2, 2026 in a blog post.

Gearbox said only a few franchises have ever hit the 100 million unit sales mark. The studio said the first game came out in 2009, meaning the series is now more than 17 years old. Gearbox called the community incredibly passionate and said player feedback pushes it to make even greater games.

Gearbox said it is reviewing where the Borderlands franchise should go next, including new character arcs and storylines. The studio asked players to suggest characters and stories worthy of a payoff, but said no new projects were revealed. Gearbox said big plans take time and the studio needs room to work before sharing more details.

Gearbox said it finished the Year One roadmap for Borderlands 4, which added two characters and two story packs along with more content. Weekly refreshes and player challenges will keep running while the studio prepares more Borderlands 4 content for the coming year. The studio said it does not yet have concrete details about what that content will look like. The roadmap for post-launch content extends well into 2026, and KitGuru said more content will arrive in 2027.

KitGuru reported that five Bounty Packs, two Vault Hunters, two free Raid Boss encounters, an endgame Takedown activity and quality-of-life improvements have arrived since the game launched. The report also described Borderlands as one of 2K’s biggest gaming franchises and noted the series helped popularize the looter shooter genre.

The game released on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on Sept. 12, 2025, with the Nintendo Switch 2 version following on Oct. 3, 2025. Early access on PC began Sept. 11, 2025 at 9 AM PT through Steam and the Epic Games Store, while console players unlocked at midnight local time on Sept. 12. The launch fell short of expectations because of PC performance problems, though the game ultimately succeeded.

GamingBolt gave Borderlands 4 a score of 8 in its review. Rick Lane of Eurogamer praised the script and open world but criticized slow combat and frustrating exploration. “these moderate improvements are undermined by frustrating exploration and combat that takes too long to properly shine,” Lane said.

Rush’s Challenge, the first Bounty Pack, arrived in Q4 2025 and focused on Rush, who leads the Outbounders faction in the Fadefields. It included a Vault Card with 24 cosmetics and four pieces of re-rollable gear. A free update in late Q4 2025 brought the first Invincible Boss.

Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, the first Story Pack, arrived in Q1 2026 and added a new Kairos zone with main story missions and side quests. It introduces C4SH, a drifter described as a former casino dealer bot who bends probability, and gives the character three Action Skills plus three full skill trees. Ellie, the Pandoran mechanic and daughter of Moxxi, is at the center of a cosmic horror adventure in the story.

Pearlescent gear came back as a free update in early Q1 2026, with drop rates below 1% and unique mechanics. A second Story Pack is confirmed for 2026, featuring another playable Vault Hunter, additional missions, a new map zone and extensive cosmetic rewards. Bounty Packs 3 and 4 are also planned for 2026.

The Standard Edition retails at $69.99, the Deluxe Edition at $99.99, and the Super Deluxe Edition at $129.99. Everyone who pre-orders gets the Gilded Glory Pack, which contains one Vault Hunter Skin, one Weapon Skin and one ECHO-4 Drone Skin. Buying the top-tier edition saves roughly $30-40 versus buying the DLC separately.

Take-Two Chief Executive Officer Strauss Zelnick said the developers are polishing the game before expanding to additional platforms. Gearbox said the milestone did not include any new project announcements. Gearbox also asked players to keep the conversation going and share their thoughts. Decisions about Borderlands characters and story arcs will be heavily influenced by fan input, Gearbox said.

Borderlands helped popularize the looter shooter genre and has become one of 2K’s biggest franchises. The series came out in 2009, featuring a distinctive cel-shaded art style and loot-shooter mechanics, and quickly gained a cult following. Gearbox has expanded the universe over the years with multiple sequels, DLCs and spin-offs, making it an evergreen title in the action-RPG market.