It’s been a hot minute since we had a truly incredible Borderlands game. Gearbox has the chance to wow everyone with Borderlands 4, and its review embargo date is drawing ever closer.
You could argue that the last amazing Borderlands game was number two. The pre-sequel felt like more of the same. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands was often hilarious, but still retains familiar ground, and Borderlands 3 is considered the odd one out. A lot is riding on the fourth game, especially when you consider Borderlands 4 has “Twice the development budget of Borderlands 3.”
The opinion of critics will have a big say in the game’s potential. So, let’s find out the latest on Borderlands 4‘s review embargo.
Borderlands 4 Review Embargo Date, Explained
According to Insider Gaming sources, Borderlands 4 reviews will go live at 8AM ET / 1PM BST on September 11.
Original speculation suggested the original Borderlands 4 review embargo date was a day early on September 10, but no time was mentioned. Borderlands 4 Bulletin claimed the review embargo was set in stone: “BORDERLANDS 4 REVIEWS WILL GO LIVE ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th.”
It appears the original information was inaccurate, and we apologize for the confusion. However, Insider Gaming has since had a quote from an unnamed source confirming the actual review embargo period:
“They’re not out until tomorrow morning when the game launches in NZ at 8 AM my time [ET].” 2K and Gearbox are leaving it late, but glowing previews suggest the reviews will be positive.”
Again, we apologize for the mix-up!
Borderlands 4 Review Scores Prediction
If we focus on consoles and take into consideration the game’s glowing previews, Borderlands 4 might sit around the 90 mark once all the reviews are in and counted on Metacritic.
Borderlands 2 is still comfortably the benchmark for the franchise’s success. It has scores of 91 on PS3, 89 on Xbox 360, and PC. In comparison, Borderlands 3 achieved a Metacritic score of 81. Anything over a 7/10 score means a game is good, making Borderlands 3 a great game. However, Borderlands 2 stands out on its own as the leader of the psycho pack.
Everything we’ve seen and heard about the 2025 release has been positive—we’ve praised it in our Borderlands 4 preview for Insider Gaming. The PC port sounds like it could be unoptimized, which is why we’re saying the console version is probably going to be reviewed better.
We’re not sure if it will beat Borderlands 2, but it could come close. A final score of 90 or 91 is possible; if not, Handsome Jack will surely come back from the dead to smite us.
Head to the Insider Gaming forum to let us know your Borderlands 4 thoughts. Is it going to be the best game in the series? Or does it look like another Borderlands game?
Check out the Borderlands 4 System Requirements, the trophy list, and whether it has crossplay for more guides.
Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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