Randy Pitchford Admits He’s ‘Nervous’ About One Aspect of Borderlands 4

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has admitted that he’s “a little nervous” about the difficulty in Borderlands 4. It seems as though Borderlands 4 could be more challenging than previous games in the series, and although Pitchford is seemingly worried it may be too much for some, the game offers an alternate way around it.

While Borderlands 3 was still a sales success upon its 2019 release, fan reception to the last game in the series was less than stellar. While the overall gameplay was generally praised, the writing, which is central to the Borderlands games, was widely seen as a step down from its predecessors. One misstep can be overlooked by fans, but it does mean that there’s some pressure for Borderlands 4 to impress.

Randy Pitchford is Nervous About Borderlands 4’s Difficulty

Speaking to Insider Gaming at Gamescom 2025, Pitchford spoke about the level of challenge players can expect on Borderlands 4‘s release day. “We have lots of players that actually aren’t interested in deep, hard challenges; lots of people that love just exploring the Borderlands or spending time with the characters,” Pitchford said. “I’m a little nervous because there are points of Borderlands 4 that are more challenging, but one of the coolest things about Borderlands 4, because of the nature of the RPG, is if anything is a little challenging for you, you can just grind somewhere and level up and become more powerful.”

In this regard, it follows the typical Borderlands series formula. Players can grind areas to make future fights much easier, or come back to face previous bosses a second time for a reminder of how far they’ve come. Pitchford elaborated on that idea a little, saying, “You will find that things that were hard when you were a little chump will become trivial when you become a badass. But we definitely have pushed the challenges quite a lot, especially with bosses and boss fight mechanics.” While Borderlands games have never been known for their overwhelming difficulty, it will be interesting to see how Gearbox has pushed the challenge in Borderlands 4 to the point where Pitchford is slightly nervous to see how players react.

In the final few weeks before Borderlands 4, it feels as though gamers are learning a lot more about the game. It was recently revealed that Borderlands 4 will be missing cross-save and cross-progression at launch, which is a slight disappointment for some players who plan to experience the game across different platforms. Hopefully, there are still some surprises to be found when the September 12 release date arrives.