2K & Gearbox Give In, Lowering Borderlands 4's Price From $80 to $70

Following nearly a month of criticism and mockery from the gaming community, Gearbox and 2K have finally given in, officially revealing Borderlands 4's price to be $70 – ten dollars less than what Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford strongly implied the game would cost in his infamous "if you're a real fan" tirade, which sparked the backlash in the first place.

As revealed in 2K's latest pre-order announcement, the upcoming installment in the Borderlands series will be priced at the "industry-standard" $70 for the standard edition, signaling that the publisher won't be following Xbox and Nintendo in hiking the video game prices, at least not for now. Additionally, the team shed some light on the game's Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions, announcing they'll be priced at $100 and $130, respectively.

As you may have already guessed, in light of Randy all but destroying Borderlands 4's PR campaign with just a couple of tweets, along with the general sentiment in the gaming community being that AAA games are overpriced and offer far less entertainment value than today's AAs and indies, many haven't taken the announcement with much enthusiasm, pointing out three main issues with the game's $70 price tag.

Firstly, gamers lambasted the devs for not adjusting the price for the European region, where players in Poland, Switzerland, Norway, the UK, and the Eurozone countries will still have to pay over $80 when converted from regional currencies, effectively nullifying the announcement and any surrounding hype in their eyes.

The second point of contention revolves around our favorite Gearbox magician, who, in a feat of wizardry wisdom, attempted to spin the $70 price tag as "no price increase for Borderlands 4."

Although it's clear what he was trying to say, many saw this angle as disingenuous, considering that previous installments – Borderlands 3 and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands – launched at $60, while New Tales from the Borderlands came out at $40. And while inflation is still a factor and should undeniably be considered, it's easy to see why many took issue with the "no price increase" framing, especially given Borderlands' and Randy's current reputation.

And lastly – and I'd argue most importantly – many gamers have called into question whether Borderlands 4 is even worth $70, which remains a significant sum for many to spend on a game not titled Grand Theft Auto VI.

The criticism mainly stems from the franchise's latest entries being seen as mediocre at best, with the three games I mentioned above all receiving mixed to negative reviews. Adding to this is last year's Borderlands movie, widely considered one of the worst films of 2024 and reported to have lost around $90 million for its creators.

With such a track record, and with today's best games usually selling for $50 or less, it is once again not difficult to understand the backlash, making one question whether the concept of an "industry-standard" video game price should even continue to exist.

And what do you think about Borderlands 4's $70 price? Will the game be worth it? Do you think the idea of industry-standard prices should be abolished? Tell us in the comments!

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