Gearbox is asking Borderlands fans to tell the studio what they want from the next game in the franchise, as work begins on what it calls "an exciting overall direction." The request came in a note to fans on Monday, November 2, 2026, and it arrived right as the studio wrapped up its first year of downloadable content for Borderlands 4.

The studio made clear that the current support plan is not ending. "Moving forward, Weekly Activity refreshes and Community Challenges will continue," Gearbox said. "We just wrapped our Year 1 roadmap, and the team is cooking hard on more Borderlands 4 content for next year." Gearbox did not say what that next wave of content will include beyond those two recurring features.

The bigger question is what comes after Borderlands 4. Gearbox spoke in broad terms about the franchise’s future, pointing to new character arcs, storylines, and a wider direction for the series. The studio said it is "constantly listening to community feedback" and is now "taking a bigger look at the franchise as a whole."

Then came the part that matters most for fans who want a say. Gearbox posed a set of direct questions and asked for answers in public.

Where can we take it next? What characters do you want to spend more time with? What stories deserve a payoff? A huge part of that is listening to you.

The studio also pointed fans toward its channels. Gearbox asked people to share their thoughts on social media and to tune into the Gearbox Devcast, a show the studio said it uses to respond to community feedback. In other words, the conversation is being steered into official spaces where Gearbox can hear it and answer back.

Don’t expect a reveal anytime soon. Gearbox was clear that the next game is still far off in its planning. "All that said, big plans take time, and we need some room to work," the studio added. "You can trust that we’ll talk more when the time is right. Now is your chance to influence what we’ll say."

That line carries weight. Gearbox is not simply collecting feedback for show. It is openly saying the early groundwork is still forming, and that player input is being gathered before any decisions get locked in. For a studio with a loyal fanbase, that is a clear invitation to shape the conversation before the official pitch arrives.

The timing of the request stands out, too. The announcement comes as the Borderlands franchise has crossed 100 million units sold. That milestone shows the series has built a huge audience over its run, and it gives the studio a strong base to build from as it plans what comes next.

Still, the franchise milestone sits alongside a more complicated story around Borderlands 4. Over the summer, fans openly questioned how well the game was doing. The debate was not only about launch sales. People also wanted to know whether the game was holding onto its player base over time, and whether that had shaped Gearbox’s plans while fans waited for confirmation of a second year of support. Today’s announcement answers that second question in part, confirming that more content is coming next year.

Launch problems set the mood. Since launching in September, Borderlands 4 has been hit by a series of controversies, mostly tied to severe PC performance issues. Those problems have been the main source of frustration for players, and they have dominated much of the discussion around the game’s reception.

The response from leadership also drew attention. Outspoken CEO Randy Pitchford went on the offensive, responding directly to complaints on social media to Claptrap back at disgruntled fans. That approach kept the debate lively, though it did little to calm players who were unhappy with the state of the game on PC.

Take-Two’s leadership has also weighed in. Strauss Zelnick, boss of Gearbox parent company Take-Two, previously admitted that Borderlands 4 sales had suffered "a little bit of softness" as a result of the technical issues. He expressed confidence that the shortfall "it’ll all be made up" given enough time. That remark signals the publisher sees the problem as temporary, provided the game keeps improving and players keep coming back.

One of the clearest signs of how the company is handling those problems came with the Nintendo Switch 2 version. That version was scrapped. Take-Two said Gearbox had prioritized continued "improvements" to the game on its existing platforms instead. It is a clear trade-off: rather than spreading resources to a new port, the studio is focusing on fixing the version that already has an audience.

Steam numbers tell a mixed story. Borderlands 4 remains on a ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam. The game launched to over 300,000 concurrent players on Valve’s platform, but it now averages a concurrent peak in the four digits. That is a steep drop from launch, and it explains why fans are asking hard questions about the game’s health.

Still, those numbers do not paint the full picture. Borderlands 4 is also available on consoles, and Steam figures alone cannot show how many people are playing across every platform. What the Steam data does make clear is that the game needs momentum. Gearbox’s Year 1 roadmap and its promise of more content next year are the obvious tools to win players back.

For fans, the message from Gearbox is simple. The studio wants to hear what kind of stories, characters, and payoffs they care about most. It is asking players to help define where the franchise goes after Borderlands 4, even though the official reveal is still some way off. Whether that outreach can rebuild goodwill after a rocky launch will depend on what Gearbox delivers next, and on how quickly it can prove the PC problems are behind it.

For now, the ball is in the community’s court. Gearbox has opened the door, asked the questions, and promised to listen. The next Borderlands is still a mystery, but the studio has made one thing clear: the fans’ answers are going to matter.