Highlights

  • Borderlands 4 would require over one trillion guns if the trend of increasing weapon numbers continues, but this is unrealistic.
  • Instead of focusing on more weapons, Gearbox could improve the endgame experience in Borderlands 4.
  • The current endgame in Borderlands lacks purpose, and a focus on challenging content and a fulfilling motive for obtaining weapons could enhance the overall gameplay.

While there is likely a considerable gap between now and the release of Borderlands 4, fans are already beginning to speculate on what the next mainline installment of their favorite loot shooter franchise will bring to the table, and that includes guns. From its humble origins in 2009, the Borderlands franchise has been known for its absurd amount of loot. Of course, this is a significant part of what has kept players coming back to the series time and time again, especially as developer Gearbox Software continues to add more gun combinations to each game's loot pool.

The number of weapons in each subsequent Borderlands game has consistently trended upward, from millions to billions. However, if that trend were to continue, Borderlands 4 is going to need over one trillion guns. As that is an unrealistic achievement, perhaps Gearbox could devote its time to another aspect of the game that has been left mostly untouched over the last 15 years.

Borderlands Franchise Vault Hunter Playable Character Tradition
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A History of Borderlands Weapons

Borderlands Had Nearly 18 Million Weapons

The game that started it all, Borderlands, doesn't quite compare to Borderlands 2 in more than one way, and that includes its number of weapons. That doesn't mean it has a small loot pool by any stretch of the imagination, however, as it was confirmed by Gearbox to possess 17,750,000 different possible weapon combinations due to randomly assigned factors. It's hard to believe that Gearbox could achieve anything greater than 18 million different weapons, but it inevitably established a staple for the franchise and the developer only built on it from there.

Borderlands 2 Had Even More Weapons Than Its Predecessor

Even after Borderlands' ludicrous number of weapons left the gaming community amazed, Gearbox didn't stop there. Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox at the time, confirmed that the number of weapons in Borderlands 2 "greatly exceeds" the original game's total, never providing an exact number. However, Borderlands 3 was heavily marketed as having the most weapons of any Borderlands game to date, so Borderlands 2 would still be somewhere in the millions, though probably in the high millions.

Borderlands 3 Had Over One Billion Weapons

Following Borderlands 2's incredibly large weapon pool, Gearbox didn't feel the need to stop there. It began marketing Borderlands 3 as the first Borderlands game to have one billion weapons. However, Borderlands 3's Creative Director Paul Sage confirmed that one billion guns was a "made-up number because I didn't really want to do the math" and that the number was "well over a billion."

Borderlands 4 Could Have a Better Endgame in Place of More Weapons

Borderlands 4 Crossovers

To properly scale the weapon pool, Borderlands 4 would require at least one trillion weapons. However, this would likely create unsolvable balance issues in the game, so Gearbox's time might be better spent on a different area for the next installment. Specifically, it might be time for the Borderlands franchise to receive a proper endgame.

The endgame in every Borderlands entry has essentially been nothing but a time sink. Players collect more weapons and grow stronger, but there isn't much of a reason for it. Once the story ends and all quests have been completed, the gameplay loop simply becomes about collecting more guns with no end in sight. If Borderlands 4 does have more weapons, there should be a greater purpose in collecting them and perhaps an endgame that focuses on completing more challenging content (similar to a concept that Tiny Tina's Wonderlands entertained) could provide that purpose.

The Borderlands franchise has never shied away from massive loot pools. That being said, Borderlands 4 is unlikely to have over a trillion weapons, but in the case that it does, a proper endgame would be a fulfilling motive for obtaining them. Not much aside from rumors have surrounded Borderlands 4, but it's likely the gaming community will see more facts confirmed in the next year.