Borderlands 4 will ditch predecessor's toilet humor, say devs

What was your favorite part of Borderlands 3? Was it the toilet humor? I'm guessing not, and Gearbox Software has admitted that leaning heavily on fart gags, as a substitute for some of the series' regular comedy and dark humor, was a mistake. Fortunately, the developer has confirmed that Borderlands 4 won't be making that same blunder. Instead, this sequel aims to nail the balance between comedy and pathos, without splattering poop jokes everywhere. And while there are lavatories in the game, Skibidi Toilet absolutely won't get a look in.

Borderlands 3 was a blast, a must-have looter-shooter FPS game that, for the most part, maintained the quality of previous entries. But it leaned a little too heavily into toilet humor, which, unsurprisingly, not everyone was happy about. Borderlands 4, Gearbox Sofware has confirmed, will not make the same mistake.

For example, there was a puzzle where the password was "fart" and a sentient toilet who grumbled, "Your feces is a level twenty-seven biohazard" to name a couple. Now, in an interview with IGN, Gearbox Software's Borderlands team has admitted that some of their own team weren't entirely on board with the lavatory-related jollity.

"I think that we had some own internal critiques about the tone and the level of humor present in Borderlands 3," explains narrative director Sam Winkler.

"I think that on Borderlands 3.. it sometimes felt like parody, and that is where we edged into a red line, I think, for a lot of fans and for myself, personally," he adds.

Winkler explains that, for Borderlands 4, the team has gone for a more grounded tone, looking to other media for examples of how to get things right. He cites Star Trek: Lower Decks as particular inspiration, stating that "It has wacky energy to it, but it works, and it works really well because it takes its characters seriously."

That's absolutely the tone Borderlands 4 deserves, because while the series isn't short on comedy, it knows when to be serious and, every now and then, when to deliver an emotional gut punch.

Borderlands 4 releases this September 25, 2025. So you don't have long to wait to find out if Gearbox Software has nailed this sequel's tone

Are you looking for something to play while you wait for Borderlands 4, without breaking the bank? We've rounded up the best free Steam games. Or if you're wondering what other games are on the way, check out these upcoming PC games.

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