Everyone knows that Borderlands is a series famed for insane gun-toting action and explosive sequences. That has become increasingly true with each successive iteration, and 2019’s Borderlands 3, the most recent numbered release in the series, boasted ’87 bazillion guns.’
The number has been refined going into Borderlands 4 by the game’s art director, Adam May. He has claimed that this highly anticipated title will include 30 billion possible guns.
Impossible Numbers
Borderlands becomes increasingly insane with each new release, but Borderlands 4 is heading to new heights with a new band of Vault Hunters, a seamless open world, and 30 billion guns.
In a new super-sized interview piece published by Epic Games, the Gearbox team uncovered various elements of Borderlands 4. The game’s art director, Adam May, stated that there are more guns than you’d ever believe possible.
This is achievable through procedural generation and by having a staggering base array of weapons right off the bat. From the various categories to the different ‘manufacturers’ iconic to Borderlands, and from the fire modes to the attachments, it’s easy to see how the list can quickly grow.
It’s worth stressing how it works.
If you get a rifle and that rifle has one attachment different in the next iteration, that’s two weapons. If it then has a different elemental effect, that’s three. Let’s say you find another with a slightly different scope. That’s four weapons, and you’re still nowhere close to the variable potential of that one firearm; that’s how Borderlands 4 can tote these types of numbers.
May explained what goes into the creation of Borderlands 4’s weapons from an artistic perspective:
Players have some recognition when they’re picking up a certain manufacturer’s weapon and have a rough idea of how it’s going to function.
It’s a back-and-forth with the design team and art team, making sure that visually things line up with how they’re supposed to work mechanically. If you want a real fast shooting weapon, you shoot for sleeker, more angular, more aggressive-looking shapes. If it’s shooting giant rockets every time, you want something that’s bigger and rounder and more bulbous.
Borderlands 4 will be released on September 12. Do you intend to give it a try and flick through some of those 30 billion guns? Let me know on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that League of Legends is getting a new WASD control scheme
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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