Today, 2K and Gearbox Software announced that Borderlands 4 is now available for pre-order. The next installment in the critically and commercially-successful franchise that started a new genre of games will launch worldwide on September 12, 2025 via PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. It will also be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 later in 2025.

"I've been blown away by how high the team at Gearbox have raised the bar for Borderlands 4," said David Ismailer, President of 2K. "The development team crafted a premium AAA adventure that evolves the series' gameplay and storytelling in new ways, while delivering on the quintessential Borderlands looter-shooter experience fans know and love."

Welcome to Computex week, oh, sorry, wrong topic—even though it's the week of what could be our favorite trades show—but this article is about new game releases. This week's major release lets you live out your childhood sandbox dreams, at least if you liked big construction vehicles as a kid. This is followed by some Japanese arcade side scrolling action, a classic adventure game, some drifting in Japan, a game that puts you in the shoes of a courier and finally yet another game related to Japan, just a bit further back in time than the previous two.

RoadCraft / This week's major release / Tuesday 20 May
As the leader of a company specialized in restoring sites devastated by natural disasters, use your construction machinery to restart the local industry. Clear debris and faulty equipment, rebuild roads and bridges damaged by weather, and much more. Steam link

Six years ago, developer 1047 Games released the free-to-play Splitgate, an arena-based first-person shooter that allowed players to place portals around maps, adding a fresh strategic layer. Now Splitgate 2 is set to double down on this unique idea with bigger maps, a new class-based system, and the introduction of The Lab, a player-facing version of the team's map creator. Ahead of the open beta opening up on May 22, we sat down with Ian Proulx, CEO and co-founder of 1047 Games, to talk about Splitgate 2's new mechanics and how community feedback and rigorous playtests are helping deliver a sequel that hits the right notes.

Making a sequel to a free-to-play shooter in 2025
When asked how the team is doing in the weeks leading up to the open beta, Proulx's response was succinct and to the point: "It's definitely a bit of a crazy time for us." Splitgate had a team of around 15 people. In contrast, there are about 200 developers working fulltime on Splitgate 2, plus 50 or so outsourced contributors. "We've definitely put a lot of thought and effort into making sure that we have a process that works versus the first game, where everybody was doing a little bit of everything all the time," Proulx added.

Developer and publisher Tripwire Interactive today announced that the highly anticipated next chapter in the studio's legendary Killing Floor franchise, Killing Floor 3, will launch worldwide on July 24 for PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), the PlayStation 5 system, and the Xbox Series X|S console systems. Following a delay from the game's original March 25 release date, the development team has been focused on using the additional time to address feedback from the player community. Since the delay, the studio has shared updates directly with fans showing progress in everything from design, artwork, UI and animations. Additional development updates will be shared via the game's official forums and social channels, further demonstrating the team's commitment to evaluating player feedback and being transparent with their progress. Digital pre-orders for the Standard, Deluxe and Elite Nightfall Editions have been reinstated and are currently live on the respective platform store pages.

"Since delaying the launch of Killing Floor 3, we've dedicated the additional development time to responding to the community's feedback, ensuring the next chapter in the much-loved cult action/horror franchise lives up to our shared vision," said Bryan Wynia, Creative Director at Tripwire Interactive. "The support from our fans has been incredible, and with the new July 24th release date in sight, we're thrilled to bring that vision to players not just at launch, but through the continued support of new features and content that is a hallmark of our studio."

Splitgate 2's next open beta will take place stating on May 22, with the developer, 1047 Games, announcing the free-to-play multiplayer shooter's new beta test in a new YouTube trailer. The open beta is free-to-play, just like the game will be when it launches, and it's seemingly open to all, as well. The Splitgte 2 open beta will be open to gamers on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games. Splitgate 2 is planned for a full release sometime in 2025, but an exact date has not yet been confirmed.

Like the first Splitgate game, Splitgate 2 will feature the same portals-based combat, fast-paced gunplay, and high vertical mobility. However, the developers have apparently been working on some new tricks for the latest installment in the series, with the open beta boasting over 25 weapons, more than 10 game modes, and "infinite" maps. It's not clear how the new map system will work, but it's likely that some sort of tile-based procedural generation will be used to spawn a new map each time a new match starts, which is similar to how games like Warframe keep things interesting in what would otherwise be a repetitive gameplay loop. The new open beta announcement teaser trailer also seems to suggest that players will be able to create and edit their own maps, likely for custom games.

Welcome to the first full week of April and this week should be a bit more exciting than last week when it comes to new game releases. In this week's major release, you take command of some isometric WWII commandos. This is followed by an existential dilemma, a folktale from the deep south, some very dark days, being a studio executive and an assault by not so wild animals.

Commandos: Origins / This week's major release / Wednesday 9 April
You have been selected for a mission which will shape the fate of the entire world. Witness the very beginning of the legendary elite WWII force in Commandos: Origins. The long-awaited sequel to the Commandos series brings you right back to the foundation of the real-time tactics genre. And to the days where Jack O'Hara, the Green Beret, and his five companions met to form the infamous unit sent to complete missions which no others would dare to accept. Steam link

What is it? What's the formula, the secret ingredient to make a VR game bring pure excitement and adrenaline to the players? How can we make them smile and go "wow" after they take off the headset? For us devs at Something Random working on Harpagun, it all comes down to a few simple elements. Let's take it from the top.

Movement that matters: Speed, control, and immersion
Action games are all about movement. An issue mostly already solved in flat screen games but still problematic in VR. Some forms of locomotion allow for precision but are pretty slow and unresponsive. Others let you zoom around the locations, but can be uncomfortable. Those that are, are limiting or take you out of the illusion of "being there." In Harpagun we needed a system with a clear set of goals: comfort, simplicity, responsiveness, speed and immersion. In a proper arcade game players have to be able to react in a blink of an eye, immediately focus on what's the most important, change their position to avoid danger or get a better shot at an enemy. We managed to achieve that with our "pylon and anchor" system. Players move between sets of points with their eyes anchored to points of interest such as a path forward or center of the combat area. The movement is smooth but fast enough to be comfortable while allowing for total control of the battlefield.

Welcome to the first week of April and the month kicks off on the slow side. This week's major release is a remaster of a game that launched on the PS4 in 2020, which is why we decided to avoid calling it a AAA release, even though the original console game was. This is followed by some parkour, going on adventures with a puppy, some mechs, running a roman outpost and finally being in charge of some police officers.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered / This week's major release / Thursday 3 April
Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure. Steam link

We're so excited to show you the teeniest bit of what we've been working on! Having Giles Goddard as our founder (of Chuhai Labs), we've wanted to make something that pays tribute to his amazing career making legendary games for a while now. With Wild Blue we are making that dream a reality! We can't wait to share more about this love letter to '90s on-rails aerial adventures soon!

Wild Blue reimagines the classic on-rail adventures of the 1990s. Join Bowie Stray and the Blue Bombers as they soar through the skies on a mission to save the world in this action-packed, nostalgic journey! Soar over oceans, desert ridges, and perilous caves, battling waves of enemies and pushing back the Baron's forces. With the help of allies, you'll fight to restore peace while experiencing the thrill of classic arcade flight-combat! Easy-to-learn controls make Wild Blue accessible for newcomers and genre veterans alike, while the game's stunning visuals immerse you in a hand-crafted, anime-style universe. With its compelling gameplay loop, branching paths, and thrilling missions, every flight is an adventure!

Welcome to the month of March and a week when almost every single new game launches on a Thursday. This week's major release is a new 5v5 FPS shooter set in a Sci-Fi world. This is followed by alien planet colony management, a spot of museum curation, working as a car mechanic, doing battle with your best buddy in multiple imaginary worlds, with the week finally ending with some more co-op action, but puppet sized. We have four more games included at the end, but that's only a few of the games launching this Thursday.

FragPunk / This week's major release / Thursday 6 March
FragPunk is a fast-paced 5v5 hero shooter with powerup cards that change the rules of each round. Choose your hero, your weapons, and pick from a selection of cards that dramatically change the rules of engagement. Steam link

Altergaze is thrilled to announce that HoverGrease 2 will be part of Steam Next Fest: February 2025, giving players the first chance to experience the adrenaline-fueled action of its single-player campaign and 5v5 multiplayer mode during special weekend playtests. This is the first opportunity to dive into HoverGrease 2 and explore its high-speed combat, deep strategy, and diverse mutant roster ahead of launch.

Whether you prefer mastering a story-driven campaign or testing your skills in competitive multiplayer, the demo offers something for every player.

Clear River Games, a video game publisher specialising in classic and retro games, in conjunction with Japanese publisher and developer City Connection, announced today that celebrated arcade shooter Under Defeat is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

The ultimate version of the classic arcade shooter. Under Defeat has been developed by retro port specialists City Connection, and includes DLC content previously only available in Japan. Alongside an 'Arcade Mode' that faithfully replicates the original arcade experience, a fresh 'New Order Mode' adapts the game for modern displays, while 'New Order Mode+' brings brand new elements to the game, including a 'WARNING GAUGE', which mixes up the classic shooter formula.

As expected, a new trailer for Borderlands 4 officially launched at The Game Awards this week, and, although it has poured cold water on speculation of the return of Gaige, the DLC vault hunter from Borderlands 2, there are some intriguing details in the trailer. For starters, we got a look at what looks to be the next Borderlands villain—or maybe even villains—and it looks like the inter-faction conflicts will play a much larger role in Borderlands 4, with larger-scale conflicts at least being part of the lore, if not the actual gameplay.

The new Game Awards trailer picks up where the previous teaser trailer left off, as teased by Gearbox CEO, Randy Pitchford, but it turns out the robotic arm didn't belong to Gaige, the mechromancer, as previously suspected. Instead, the character picking up the mask at the start of the new trailer appears to be the cruel leader of some sort of robotic bandit militia preparing to do battle against an army of soldiers or drones, who bear some similarities to the Eridian from past Borderlands games and are being led by a single general, who also seems to be a main villain in the game—perhaps some invading force looking to exploit the planet. The resulting conflict between the two rival factions is on a larger scale than we've seen in previous Borderlands games, although there have always been inter-faction conflicts in Borderlands games. Of course, new enemies and factions aren't the only details included in the new Borderlands 4 trailer.

Square Enix just announced the final season of Foamstars, the colorful, unique 4v4 PvP party shooter for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. After the new season, which will run from December 13, 2024, to January 17, 2025, Square Enix will stop providing seasonal updates to Foamstars, effectively marking the end of the game's live service. It won't be the end of Foamstars entirely, though, since the game and its servers will remain live after the final season ends—with all previous seasons' content available, to boot. Still, without additional content coming, the future of Foamstars is uncertain, and many are already asking how long the game will remain interesting to players, especially in a genre that has so many alternatives.

In order to stem the inevitable player exodus and attract new players, despite the effective discontinuation of development, Square Enix is planning a series of in-game events it calls the Foamstars Cup. Along with the new season, Square Enix will also introduce customizable character shots and a handful of other enhancements. Foamstars went free-to-play earlier this year, shortly after its launch, likely as a move to attract new players, but the effective abandonment of the game by Square Enix is something of an indication that even this wasn't enough to justify further development of the game beyond what Square Enix is promising after this final season.

Welcome to the first week of December and the first of advent for those that celebrate it. This week's AAA release is the 2024 release of a FPS shooter that first saw life back in 1998, but under a new developer and publisher. If this isn't your cup of tea, then you can try your luck in beating humans, demolishing things, surviving a bullet hell, finding your lost memories or pretending to be a superhero.

Delta Force / This week's AAA title / Thursday 5 December
Delta Force is back! The iconic series returns as the definitive free-to-play modern team-based tactical shooter and featuring three distinct gameplay modes: large-scale PvP warfare, intense extraction shooter action, and a remake of the legendary Black Hawk Down campaign. Steam link

After a couple of slow week's we have a packed week of new releases for you this week, kicking off with some nuclear stalking action in this week's AAA title. This is followed by a tactical turn-based strategy game set in WW2, a fantasy open world survival crafter, a game for wanna be pilots, a MOBA battle royal hero shooter mixup, a murder on a train with a comedy twist and finally a tactical shooter set in an anime universe. Star Wars Outlaws is also out on Steam this week among many other new releases.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl / This week's AAA release / Wednesday 20 November
Discover the vast Chornobyl Exclusion Zone full of dangerous enemies, deadly anomalies and powerful artifacts. Unveil your own epic story as you make your way to the Heart of Chornobyl. Make your choices wisely, as they will determine your fate in the end. Take over a role of the lone stalker and explore photorealistic seamless open world in a 64-km² radioactive zone with a variety of environments that reveal post-apocalyptic atmosphere from different angles. Steam link

Team17 Digital and Crowbar Collective are working together on a new tactical shooter called Rogue Point. The CEO, the richest man in the world, is dead. Cutthroat conglomerates seek to carve up his kingdom. Using the MERX app, rival businessmen can order private mercenary armies as easily as ordering takeout! Only Rogue Point, an elite, independent vigilante squad, dares to fight back.

Your objective is clear. Eliminate the MERX, and put an end to the corporate war. Gather up to 4 friends and build an elite team, engaging in challenging missions with a dynamic rogue-lite twist offering hundreds of ways to play.

Gaijin Entertainment and Matter Team are happy to announce Active Matter, a new mind-bending tactical hardcore shooter set in a fractured multiverse. The game will be available for purchase on PC (at Steam and Gaijin.Net stores), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2025. The exact price and release date will be announced later. The Closed Beta Test of Active Matter is planned for 2024 at Gaijin.Net, and players are welcome to sign up at the game's official website to make sure they do not miss this opportunity.

Active Matter players control operators stuck in a time loop, returning, time and again, to the same point after each death. They choose a loadout and enter quantum-unstable zones, rich in active matter - a substance capable of warping and ripping the very fabric of space and time. Rivals from other timelines, physics-breaking anomalies that change gravitational force and ethereal beings stand in the way. Players harvest active matter, collect the loot and extract to a safe area before the whole zone ceases to exist with everything inside it.

Valve's next-gen hero shooter, Deadlock, has been making waves lately, with a recent update addressing cheating in a rather comical way. Now, it looks like the developers are putting in more work to both expand the game's hero roster and bring it up to feature-parity with other modern MMOs and PvP shooters. According to the changelog for the October 24 Deadlock update, Valve has added six new heroes to the game alongside some much-needed bug fixes, visual tweaks, and new social features.

The biggest news is obviously the new heroes, which, despite being added to the game, aren't quite ready for prime time just yet. As such, Valve has created a new experimental mode called Hero Labs, where players will be able to test new, potentially incomplete, heroes and provide feedback to the developers. The preliminary names for the six new heroes are Holliday, Calico, Wrecker, Fathom, Viper, and Magician, and Valve developer, Yoshi, is clear that these new heroes are still works-in-progress, with Magician in particular lacking his own ultimate ability. New heroes aren't the only changes coming to Deadlock, though, and Valve's update notes include a new character shader and better sky and environment illumination, a commend feature to show appreciation to other players, and a slew of balance changes to just about every character in the game.

Arc Raiders, the upcoming third-person PvPvE survival shooter from the developer of The Finals has received a date for its first tech test on Steam. This will apparently be the game's largest external play test to date, and, given the far-away release date, the developer will likely be evaluating things like server performance and game stability first and foremost—although players will likely be asked for feedback regarding game performance and features, as well. The tech test will run for four days, starting on October 24 and ending on October 27.

Players interested in trying out the upcoming extraction shooter can apply via the game's Steam Store page, although they will also need to agree to a non-disclosure agreement, and they will not be allowed to stream any gameplay, share any footage or images from the new game, or even talk about the playtest. In the announcement for the playtest, Embark Studios is clear that this is not meant to be a marketing push for Arc Raiders, despite the press wave that came with the tech test announcement, and the studio hopes to save the excitement for when the game fully releases in 2025.

Today, Remedy Entertainment has unveiled FBC: Firebreak (formerly known as Project Condor), with players joining the enigmatic Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) in a three-player cooperative first-person shooter. As the Bureau's headquarters faces a deadly and prolonged siege by otherworldly forces, only Firebreak—its most adaptable response unit—has the skills and courage to restore order.

The mid-priced FBC: Firebreak will be the first self-published game from Remedy Entertainment and is scheduled to release in 2025 for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. FBC: Firebreak will launch day one on PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate. It also launches day one onto the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog, available for all Extra and Premium members.

Starfield's Shattered Space DLC launched on September 30, and it was meant to address many of the base game's major issues, with a more hand-crafted feel, more intimate encounters, and a more narrative-driven gameplay experience. Instead, Steam gamers and critics alike have lambasted the expansion online for boring and underwhelming, repetitive gameplay, calling it "more Starfield," essentially repeating the story of Starfield's initial launch. At the time of writing, the Shattered Space DLC has 1,601 reviews on Steam, with only just over 34% of those reviews rating the expansion positively—placing it squarely in the "Mostly Negative" category on Steam.

Likely the biggest disappointment when it comes to Shattered Space's poor reception is that the Starfield player base actually seemed quite optimistic about the expansion, thanks to previous gameplay and interviews about the intention behind the expansion. Critically, however, Starfield developer, Bethesda, deliberately didn't send out game keys to the press for review prior to the launch of the game, so there was no real way for players to know whether they would enjoy the $29.99 expansion before buying it.

Metal: Hellsinger is a first-person rhythm shooter featuring roguelike and boomer shooter elements and set to a heavy metal soundtrack with some of the metal world's biggest names. The game follows a mysterious protagonist, known simply as The Unknown, as she battles her way through the various levels of hell on a quest to regain her voice. Today, the rhythm shooter launches an additional VR version, with some interesting new VR-specific rhythm mechanics to spice things up.

Being a rhythm game, Metal: Hellsinger gives players bonuses for performing actions on-beat with the background music—which often gets quite challenging due to the fast pace and swarming enemies—but the VR version steps things up a notch, allowing you to aim the game's dual pistols individually, physically draw and release the crossbow, and actively reload the shotgun to the beat.

Digital Extremes's free-to-play third-person looter-shooter, Warframe, has changed radically over the years, serving as something of a golden example of how to do live-service games. The developer also shows no sign of slowing that progress, with the game's upcoming Warframe 1999 and Koumei & the Five Fates updates looking to introduce a slew of new content and gameplay updates. While both updates were previously announced, Digital Extremes revealed additional details about the rollout of the updates and their content at the Tokyo Game Show.

For starters, Digital Extremes announced that Warframe 1999—the 90s- and cyberpunk-themed story update—will be getting a playable demo on October 16, with an in-game cosmetic reward for players that try out the demo, to boot. The Koumei & the Five Fates update is slated to land on October 2 and deliver a new playable Warframe, Koumei, and a new Shrine Defense game mode with enemies inspired by Japanese folklore. There are also quality-of-life changes, new weapons, and weapon and Warframe mods coming in the same update, and an old Warframe will get a drastic rework and be available as a free login reward between October 3 and 16.

Valve's latest third-person MOBA-like hero shooter, Deadlock, has had a pretty serious cheater problem, despite still being an invite-only public test. While the game has thus far operated on a player reporting system to identify and punish cheaters, a recent game patch has introduced a rather comical—and seemingly effective—anti-cheat system that can either ban cheating players or turn them into frogs until the end of the match.

Valve says that the new anti-cheat system is set up to be fairly conservative at the moment to avoid any false positives. Aside from the new anti-cheat, Deadlock's September 26 update introduced a new hero, Mirage, whose design and gameplay seem rooted in the jinn from Arabic myths (aka djinn or genie) and added a pretty vast collection of gameplay updates, balances, and quality-of-life improvements throughout the game.