Borderlands 4 is now officially in active development

Gearbox Entertainment has confirmed that work on the upcoming Borderlands 4 is continuing under new management as Take-Two Interactive works to acquire the studio from the embattled Embracer Group.

Borderlands fans can rest easy after an official announcement confirmed that the game’s developer, Gearbox Entertainment, is due to change management and that the next installment, Borderlands 4, will soon enter active development.

The game’s status has been a topic of concern after its parent company, the Embracer Group, began shutting down the studios that it had acquired in a shopping spree that oddly started in 2020 during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

In February 2021, the Embracer Group announced that it had bought Gearbox for $1.3 billion. However, after roughly a year, financial woes have forced the holding company to close several of the studios in its portfolio.

This resulted in the cancellation of several projects, including what would have been a reimagining of the PlayStation 2-era first-person shooter, TimeSplitters, under Steve Ellis in the resurrected Free Radical Design.

Borderlands 4 was one of the titles reportedly under development by Gearbox, as confirmed by founder Randy Pitchford to IGN. However, fans became concerned regarding its fate following the continuing string of cancellations and studio closures by the Embracer Group.

However, a recent press release from Take-Two Interactive revealed that the publisher, which also owns the studios Rockstar, 2K, and Private Division, is negotiating a $460 million purchase of Gearbox and its portfolio.

The press release included a statement from 2K President David Ismailer welcoming the developers under Gearbox to the company. Ismailer said that his company had a positive experience partnering with Gearbox on the Borderlands franchise and is looking forward to entering “active development on the next installment in the series."

While officially confirmed, the acquisition will still go through the requisite processes, which are expected to be completed within the first quarter of Take-Two’s fiscal year 2025, which ends on June 30, 2024.