If you’re a diehard Borderlands fan like me, you probably had your notifications flipped on for the big summer game showcase drops last month, and the Borderlands 4 story trailer June 21 reveal did not disappoint. After years of vague teases and offhand comments from Gearbox devs, we finally got our first real look at the next chapter of the chaotic looter shooter franchise, and it’s packed with way more detail than you might have caught on your first watch. I’ve rewatched the 3-minute trailer at least 12 times at this point, pausing every two seconds to spot easter eggs, parse dialogue snippets, and connect dots to past Borderlands lore, so I’m breaking down all the biggest reveals and unanswered questions right here.
Core Story Teases Hidden in the Borderlands 4 Story Trailer June 21 Drop
First off, the trailer opens with a shot of a shattered Vault Key floating above Pandora’s ruined surface, and we hear a familiar distorted voice that long-time fans will immediately recognize as the Destroyer, the intergalactic elder god we defeated at the end of the first Borderlands game. The voiceover says “You thought locking me away would end this? You only gave me time to grow,” which confirms our long-running theory that the Destroyer was never fully defeated, just trapped between dimensions. We also get a quick shot of Lilith, who was presumed dead after the end of Borderlands 3, standing on a cliff edge with her Siren powers fully restored, which is easily the biggest surprise of the entire trailer. It’s not clear yet if she’s an ally, or if the Destroyer has corrupted her, but the 2-second shot of her grinning while holding a shard of the Destroyer’s core has sparked endless debate in fan groups already. The Borderlands 4 story trailer June 21 drop also spends a surprising amount of time focusing on the aftermath of Borderlands 3’s final battle, showing whole cities on Pandora that were destroyed by the Calypso twins’ rampage.
New and Returning Characters You Might Have Missed
The trailer only gives us quick glimpses of the four new playable Vault Hunters, but we were able to pick out small details about each of their abilities and backstories from the short clips we got:
We also get quick cameos from a bunch of fan-favorite side characters, including Tiny Tina, who is shown running her own bomb-making workshop on Pandora, and Mordecai, who is still traveling with his pet bird Bloodwing (or a new bird with the same name, if the original Bloodwing’s death is still canon). None of the Calypso twins appear in the trailer, which has led many fans to speculate that their story arc is officially wrapped, and they won’t be returning as villains for this installment. Even with the limited screen time each character gets in the Borderlands 4 story trailer June 21 reveal, we can already tell each has a distinct personality that fits perfectly with the franchise’s signature chaotic, humorous tone.
Easter Eggs and Lore Connections to Past Borderlands Games
If you’re the type of fan who’s spent hours reading through Borderlands lore entries and hidden audio logs, you’ll be happy to know the June 21 trailer is packed with tiny easter eggs that connect directly to past games. One blink-and-you-miss-it shot shows a wanted poster for Handsome Jack taped to the wall of a rundown bar on Pandora, even though he’s been dead for more than a decade in the game’s timeline. Another shot shows a shelf full of Eridium bars marked with the logo of the Atlas Corporation, which confirms that Atlas is still operating on Pandora after the events of Borderlands 3. We also spotted a quick shot of a vault door marked with the symbol of the Sirens, which suggests we’ll be visiting multiple Vaults across different planets in this game, not just one on Pandora like in the first title. We also found a hidden frame in the last second of the trailer that shows a map of the galaxy with 7 new Vault markers, which lines up with a leak we heard from a Gearbox dev last year that said Borderlands 4 will have the largest map in franchise history. Most of these easter eggs are easy to miss if you’re only watching the Borderlands 4 story trailer June 21 drop once at regular speed, so we recommend pausing every few seconds if you want to catch them all.
What the Trailer Tells Us About the Full Game Launch Plans
Gearbox hasn’t given us an official release date for Borderlands 4 yet, but the June 21 story trailer gives us a few clues about when we can expect to get our hands on the full game. The trailer ends with a text card that says “coming soon,” but industry insiders have confirmed that the game is on track for a release sometime next year, and we’ll likely get a full gameplay trailer at next year’s summer game showcase. We also know from the trailer that the game will keep the same signature cel-shaded art style that the franchise is known for, but with upgraded graphics that make the environments and character models look far more detailed than they did in Borderlands 3. Gearbox also confirmed in a follow-up tweet after the trailer drop that the game will support 4-player co-op crossplay across all platforms, so you’ll be able to play with your friends no matter what console or PC storefront you use. There’s no word yet on pre-order bonuses, but we expect we’ll hear more about that in the next few months, as Gearbox ramps up its marketing push for the game. The Borderlands 4 story trailer June 21 drop didn’t give us a specific release window, but we’re expecting more news before the end of the year.
At the end of the day, the Borderlands 4 story trailer June 21 reveal gave us way more concrete information than most of us expected, and it’s got the entire fanbase hyped for what’s coming next. We still have a ton of unanswered questions, like whether Lilith is really on our side, what new types of weapons we’ll get to use, and how the Destroyer’s return will tie up loose ends from the past three mainline games, but we’ll be sure to break down every new detail as soon as it drops. If you haven’t rewatched the trailer yet, go give it another watch, and you’ll probably spot a few more easter eggs we missed the first time around.