Gearbox Software has made a huge announcement for Borderlands 4 that’s going to make all their fans happy – including Nintendo fans.
They made this announcement as part of their Official Gameplay Deep Dive:
“Thanks to our improved lobby system, it’s easier than ever to join up with your friends on the fly. And with full cross-play at launch, you can play with your friends on any platform.”
Borderlands 4 is launching on Switch 2 at the same time as other platforms, namely PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on Steam and Epic Game Store. That is going to be a simultaneous launch this September 12, 2025. Interestingly enough, Gearbox recently moved that release date to two weeks earlier than originally planned. They categorically denied that it had anything to do with any other games releasing in the same window, so no, this is not a clue on Grand Theft Auto 6’s release.
In any case, these are impressive claims on Gearbox’s part, as they’re adding a system to that mix that hasn’t even launched yet. Now, if you’re a longtime Borderlands fan, you probably already expect that there will be some issue of some sort for online play at launch anyway, but we’ll see if they do better this time compared to Borderlands 3’s launch.
Speaking of Borderlands 3, one may remember that Gearbox managed to port it to the Nintendo Switch, a full four years after it originally came out for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and also after it received special versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Borderlands 3 is arguably one of the Nintendo Switch’s impossible ports, reflecting on how Nvidia finally enabled Nintendo to receive some level of third party parity with its console peers. Like these other impossible ports, Borderlands 3 did come with some graphical compromises, but it’s not as bad as you may assume. At 45 FPS, it sits comfortably between its 8th generation and 9th generation peers.
As we have seen, the Switch 2 will be a different story for Gearbox and other developers. We’ve already covered some of the seeming miracles that are happening with the Street Fighter 6 and Cyberpunk 2077 ports on Nintendo’s new console. While there were already cross-play games on the Switch like Fortnite and Overwatch 2, those games were designed to run on older hardware to earn as wide a player base as possible. Borderlands 4 will be a test of Switch 2’s cross-platform cross-play capabilities, as well as of Gearbox servers’ flexibility.
And if the Switch 2 passes this test, it means the sky is the potential limit on online multiplayer shooters on the console. 3rd party developers know that the Nintendo Switch user base is massive, and a potential blue ocean for them. Both blockbuster hits, like Marvel Rivals, and struggling titles looking for a second chance, like Payday 3, will want in if the money is good, and that’s if the Switch 2 proves its mettle as an online multiplayer platform.
