Gearbox‘s upcoming title will ditch the mini-map seen in earlier entries — but the studio has a clear reason behind this decision.

At PAX East, Gearbox founder and president Randy Pitchford explained during a panel why Borderlands 4, the latest installment in a franchise that began over 15 years ago, won’t feature a mini-map. He also emphasized that Borderlands 4 will be significantly more vertical than its predecessors, moving beyond flat terrains into layered, three-dimensional environments.

“This is the biggest universe we’ve built by far, and it’s seamless. There are no load times. If you see something anywhere on the screen—even a mile up in the sky—you can go there. A lot of what you do might be in local space, but a lot of what you do or want to do is out there. A local space map isn’t a good way to navigate when you’re thinking about multiple objectives and opportunities that might be miles away. A compass really helps with that.

The team really committed to pushing the boundaries of design and environment. Instead of relying on a single flat plane, they embraced verticality. Borderlands 4 features more vertical spaces than any Borderlands game ever. In a layered world, a top-down 2D view is extremely confusing. A compass with arrows indicating whether things are above or below gives you better spatial awareness. We want you to play the game—not the map. So we committed all our investment to this compass system.

The big map is still there. You can access it with one click, and it’s packed with more features than ever before. We even implemented an AI-driven GPS system that helps guide your path. Plus, we have a companion in the world called Echobot who assists with navigation,” said Pitchford.

He didn’t rule out the possibility that a mini-map might be added later—possibly as paid DLC. Borderlands 4 launches September 12 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC, with a Nintendo Switch 2 version expected to follow later.

Source: WCCFTech