A free Borderlands was surprisingly released, but only a few players can play it, and Take-Two must explain that it is not a scam.
What is this new game? On April 9, 2026, a new Borderlands was surprisingly released. The American development studio “Zynga” released “Borderlands Mobile,” a free spin-off of the popular loot shooter franchise for mobile devices – but without a major announcement or introduction of the game.
Borderlands Mobile is currently only available in the USA and was also released there exclusively in the Apple App Store for iOS devices. The game is free-to-play, rated 18 and up, currently about 2.9 GB in size, and limited to the English language.
Cheap copy or an official spin-off? 2K speaks out
This is what the game is about: Since the game was not developed by Gearbox and neither Take-Two nor 2K Games initially commented on Borderlands Mobile, and there was no official announcement of the game anywhere, some fans doubted the authenticity and legality of the mobile spin-off.
A user wrote in the subreddit for Borderlands 4: “I’m confused… Is this an official game or is it just a ‘Let me copy your homework’ mobile game?”
In the meantime, 2K Games has commented on Borderlands Mobile and confirmed that the game is indeed an official spin-off. In response to Forbes, a spokesperson stated:
“We are always looking for ways to bring Borderlands to a new audience. The Zynga studio NaturalMotion is currently conducting a limited-time test for an untitled Borderlands project for mobile devices, with Gearbox providing creative input on the design, story, and background of the game series. We hope players enjoy this new Borderlands experience and look forward to their feedback.”
Zynga, the development studio behind Borderlands Mobile, has been part of Take-Two Interactive for several years and is therefore part of the same corporate group as 2K Games and Borderlands developer Gearbox Software. The acquisition of Zynga made headlines because the purchase offer, according to the CEO of Take-Two, was around $12.7 billion.
This is what the game is about: According to the first U.S. testers, the game apparently follows its own, new story that takes place shortly after the events of Borderlands 3.
Since it is initially only a limited-time test, only one vault hunter is currently playable. However, it is already visible in the menu that there will be 3 more. The gameplay itself is heavily based on the Borderlands formula but is noticeably tailored for mobile, meaning shorter missions.
Just recently, the first major DLC for Borderlands 4 was released with a new vault hunter in tow. However, the expansion did not go down well with all players. Some are drawing a harsh conclusion. More on this here: Borderlands 4 gets its first major DLC for 30 Euros, fails at what the predecessors did so well
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