Gearbox CEO Explains Why Borderlands 4 Removed Popular Feature From Original Games

By 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:James Lucas

Published May 12, 2025

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Borderlands 4

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Summary

Borderlands 4 is controversially swapping out the minimap for a compass.
That's because the world is far more vertical, and Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford believed that navigating a layered 3D space with a 2D map would be "extremely confusing".
Instead, the compass will mark whether an objective is above or below you via labelled arrows.

You might've noticed that something was missing from the new 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Borderlands 4 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:gameplay footage — the minimap. You're not alone. Fans were so upset to see its absence that the backlash even caught the attention of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford.

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"Here's the deal: you guys haven't played the game yet," Pitchford said at a PAX East panel (via ). "You know, obviously, when we did Borderlands 1, we didn't have a mini map, and we added it in Borderlands 2. And we noticed that there's some peopl🌳e online going, 'Wait, w﷽e haven't seen a minimap in what you've shown so far. What's going on there?

"I'll tell you the deal - I'll just be straight with you. We made a big freaking world and a lot of the things you do can be in local space, but a lot of the things you do or want to do are out there. A local space map is not a good way to navigate when you're thinking about objectives and opportunities, several aꦬt the same time, that might be miles away. A compass really helps us do that."

Borderlands 4 Is Too Vertical For A Minimap

While Pitchford is hesitant to label Borderlands 4 an open world, he did say that it's the "most open and free" game Gearbox has ever made. "You see something anywhere on the screen, a mile away, up in the sky, you will be able to get there," he explained. Verticality is the core of this hotꦇly anticipated FPS sequel, with Pitchford saying that i♈t's "by far" the most layered.

We want you🍒 to play the game, and not play the map.

That's because Gearbox didn't want a "single flat place" like with the other games. But that came with a slight prob♔lem: Pitchford argued that a 2D map would be "extremely confusing" when trying to navigate so many different layers. The compass is better fitted for this new approach, as arrows will mark whether an objective is ab༒ove or below you, giving you much better "spatial awareness".

I don't know about you, but trying to navigate the complex, layered, holographic maps of the Jedi games always g𝓰ave me a b💮it of a headache, so I'm ready to welcome a more intuitive compass that tells me exactly what direction objectives are in.