Borderlands 4 recently held an event where streamers got to play the loot shooter on Twitch. Fans viewed the footage and noted many of the new features that are important for the release.
What was the event about? On June 21, 2025, during the evening hours in Germany, the “Borderlands 4 Fan Fest” took place, featuring various streamers and cosplayers. Gearbox used the event to present a new story trailer for its loot shooter and gave streamers the chance to test the upcoming game.
The event was streamed by the participating streamers on Twitch. Even though they weren’t able to showcase the game for long, fans managed to catch a glimpse of certain details from the preview. Therefore, we will show you what fans could discover from the stream.
Better presentation for your items
The item cards provide an overview of your weapons when you inspect them on the ground or in the menu. Gearbox has ensured a better overview with Borderlands 4 and has redesigned the layout so that you can better grasp the information regarding the effects and statistics.
Weapon components are now listed, which will describe the effect they have on the weapon. Damage, reload time, and other information about your firearm will now be represented with small icons so you can scan the important information more quickly.
Vehicles to explore the open world
A cool new feature is your vehicle in Borderlands 4. While in the predecessor you could call various vehicles at a Catch-a-Ride, you can now activate your new vehicle at any time and zoom off.
This vehicle, resembling a Sparrow from Destiny 1 & 2, can give you a speed boost, fire projectiles, and even launch rockets. So the vehicle is not just meant as a cart – you should be able to shoot people with it as well.
It is still unclear whether you can modify your vehicle, but in the predecessor, fans could at least make cosmetic and minor weapon adjustments to their vehicles – mods would therefore be conceivable.
New pastime: Fishing
A small but new feature in Borderlands 4 is fishing. Yes, every new vault hunter has a grappling hook on their wrist that you can fire to move more mobile through the map. This hook can also be used for fishing.
How extensive the feature is, we can’t say for sure yet, but it has made some streamers smile. It’s clear you can acquire loot with it.
New movement to be more mobile
As already mentioned with fishing, there is now a grappling hook with which you can move more mobile through the map. You can then aim at anchor points and pull yourself to quickly reach higher positions or seek cover quickly. Borderlands is already known for its fast movement, but with the grappling hook, you will be even quicker on your feet. Additionally, there will also be a double jump and the ability to swim.
Mark weapons as junk immediately
Looting can be appealing in Borderlands, except when you also have to mark the new loot in your inventory. Gearbox understood this and, therefore, provided the possibility in Borderlands 4 to collect weapons and items immediately as junk. This way, you won’t have to painstakingly go through everything again to mark it and can sell your junk at a vendor with just a button press.
Moxxi’s “Encore” Machine
Farming bosses in Borderlands has always been exhausting – areas had to be reloaded and that consumed a lot of time for players, plus it was counterproductive if you wanted to farm in co-op. With Moxxi’s new machine, this should no longer be a problem.
With some cash (not Eridium, but cash), players can summon their beloved boss enemy as often as possible at this machine, even in co-op. This is very convenient and will save many players time (Source: Reddit).
ECHO-4: A new companion for all situations
If you paid attention to the trailers, you will have noticed a new cute robot. Its name is ECHO-4 and he is the new loyal companion of the vault hunter, who will help you navigate through the open world.
He can hack terminals, scan the environment, mark loot, and show the direct way to the mission. The interesting part is that it’s an optional feature. If you don’t like him or find him annoying, you can turn him off.
Combat Map + Compass
To assist with orientation, there will also be a new feature, namely the ability to play with a compass and a combat map. Fans were concerned that you would only have to play with a compass, but just recently, the CEO of Gearbox, Randy Pitchford (Source: X), confirmed that there will be an option in the settings to have both activated. The combat map is not intended to show outlines of the terrain but rather to act like a radar by marking the position of enemies that are in your vicinity.
That was all the information we can reveal to you at this time. Which feature do you like best and have you noticed other details we haven’t reported on? Feel free to let us know in the comments! More about Borderlands 4 can be found here: Borderlands 4: Everything about crossplay, multiplayer, co-op, and splitscreen on PS5, Xbox, Steam and Switch 2
