Earlier this year, a terminally ill Borderlands fan named Caleb McAlpine put out what he described as a “long shot” plea to Gearbox to allow him to play Borderlands 4 before he passes away. According to McAlpine, his stage-4 cancer means he may have less than two years to live. Fortunately, Gearbox has come through for McAlpine and fulfilled his wish.
In an update posted to Reddit, McAlpine thanked everyone who supported his request and confirmed that Gearbox flew him and a friend out via first class to Gearbox’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas. During his visit, McAlpine met the developers and Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford. He also shared his first impressions of Borderlands 4.
“We got to play what they have for Borderlands 4 so far, and it was amazing,” wrote McAlpine. “I don’t know if I will be around when the game comes out, but I just want to say thank you to all of you for all of your love and support and for helping in making this happen. It truly was an amazing experience and it was just awesome.”
Borderlands 4 was officially announced during the opening night of Gamescom in August, but we still don’t know too much about the sequel. Gearbox has shown off concept art for a new planet that will appear in the game, while also teasing a new character who is “far more dangerous” than Handsome Jack.
Borderlands 4 will hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2025, but there isn’t an exact release window yet. Gearbox’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, has indicated that it won’t release Grand Theft Auto 6 and Borderlands 4 in close proximity to each other. For now, we’ll just have to wait for more details to emerge.