Following a wave of Borderlands 4 previews and the feedback that's come from those, Gearbox has confirmed that its upcoming looter shooter will feature an optional combat radar after all, after a significant number of players complained about its absence in the demo they played.
After previews for Borderlands 4 went live, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford took to Twitter, polling fans on "what more" they want when it comes to navigation in the game. It was already confirmed that there's no mini-map, but 55% of people declared that they wanted a "combat radar, you fools," prompting Pitchford to explain that, actually, the devs already have us covered for the full launch.
In a thread discussing Borderlands 4's maps, compass, and EchoBot AI drone, Pitchford admits: "To be honest, we have been using the compass for so long for combat situational awareness, [that] we don't miss the radar. We stopped thinking about it. We can actually prove at the beginner level it doesn't matter and at the advanced level the compass is preferred." However, following the game's recent "press tour," Pitchford estimates "roughly 15%" of players brought up the combat radar's absence, with a number really advocating for the feature.
"As me and head of dev, Steve Jones (and some of the other guys) were poking around with producers trying to figure out what it would take to add these features and if we could make it in time to ship or not, something awesome happened," Pitchford explains. "In classic Gearbox style, where we have an ethos of 'they who builds it, wins,' some developers got together and found some time in the margins of their schedules. Some Gearbox heroes did what Gearbox heroes do!"
A combat radar is now an optional feature in Borderlands 4, you guys! Here’s a sneak peek at what it looks like! 29/32 pic.twitter.com/kcKebRqE2rJune 19, 2025
Pitchford says that in an effort from creative director Graeme Timmins and some members of the UI team (including "the awesome Jason Brown and the badass Justin Dooley," as well as art from "the super talented Ray Peña"), the devs made the combat radar players were missing. What's more, they "just barely squeezed it in for a QA pass so that it can go into the main branch of our software in time to ship with Borderlands 4 on September 12."
The Gearbox boss expresses his gratitude for the feedback the devs received, perhaps with some trepidation using the term "real fans," despite all the backlash he's faced for those two words recently. "This happened because of the best elements of our community. I'm talking about the real fans who sincerely want the best for the game and gave constructive notes and made reasonable arguments," he says. "You know who you are and you rock! You made this happen!"
Meanwhile, creative director Timmins reveals that the combat radar was added "LAST FREAKING WEEK," so it really is a recent development. He says that those involved in its creation "went incredibly fast when I told them – 'If we're doing this, I want it for launch.' This is just how committed we are here guys; we're doing everything to make BL4 the definitive Borderlands."
All in all, it's been a positive week for Borderlands fans – a welcome change after the aforementioned backlash following Pitchford's suggestion that any "real fan" would find a way to buy the upcoming game even if it was $80. A few days ago, it was confirmed that the standard edition of the game is $70, so fans' wallets are somewhat safe, unless they want to buy a pricey collector's edition that's not actually a collector's edition.
