Borderlands 4 will cut back on 'toilet humour' says developer

It looks like Borderlands 4 will be cutting back its “toilet humour”, that’s according to one of its developers at Gearbox Software.

The Borderlands series published by 2K has been around for over a decade and a half with its first release arriving in 2009 on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, entertaining its millions of fans with its fun looter-shooter gameplay loop, cel-shaded visuals and quirky humour.

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At the time of writing, the last game in the series to be released is the 2022 spin-off title, New Tales from the Borderlands. However, the last numbered entry was Borderlands 3 in 2019, so it’s fair to say that fans have had to be a little bit patient.

Alas, that patience was rewarded when we were treated to a ‘first look’ trailer for Borderlands 4 at The Game Awards 2024. Fans will be hoping for the series’ signature form of entertainment but with improved visuals and gameplay, not to mention the aforementioned quirky humour.

That being said, as reported by PC Gamer, it seems that not everything will be the same in Borderlands 4 because one of its developers, narrative director Sam Winkler says that the upcoming sequel will ditch its “toilet humour”.

When asked on Twitter by a fan if Borderlands 4 will adopt dark humour instead of the typical “fart jokes”, Winkler replied, “Not at liberty to talk much about the content of BL4, but I remain firm in my criticism of BL3's overabundance of toilet humour.”

Of course, humour is in the eye of the beholder but I would imagine that many fans would be pleased to know that Borderlands 4 looks to be taking a more mature and darker turn when it comes to its humour. Whether that resonates with fans, only time will tell.

Borderlands 4 currently does not have a release date but it is expected to arrive sometime in 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.