Gearbox’s Anthony Nicholson also teases “new traversal mechanics” in the looter shooter, which “encourage and reward exploration.”

Gearbox has said much about how “open and free” the world of Borderlands 4 can be. It’s not quite open-world – or at least, that’s not how CEO Randy Pitchford would describe it – but it’s certainly “larger than anything we’ve ever done.” Senior project producer Anthony Nicholson has since weighed in and confirmed the presence of some “open-world-like features.”

“We’re making the experience of playing the game more seamless to the player in a number of ways,” he said to GamesRadar in its recent preview. “Borderlands 4 does have some open-world-like features, such as seamless travel between zones, a more dynamic world with events and discoverable side missions and activities, and new traversal mechanics, all of which encourage and reward exploration.”

It’s not to say that the team intended to create an “open world game” in the “traditional use of that term.” Instead, the sequel is expanding on the “more open, explore-the-world-around-you feeling, particularly in our big zone maps” that the series is known for. “This time we worked to integrate these gameplay spaces together without map loads so that the players are getting a seamless experience. In a nutshell, that captures why we use the term seamless.”

Thankfully, traversing these maps will be easier than ever. Players can summon vehicles from anywhere like Destiny’s Sparrow. You can also instantaneously fast-travel to allies in co-op. It remains to be seen how the characters’ movement options have changed, but with a gameplay reveal coming early this year, we may learn more sooner than later.

Borderlands 4 is out this year for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Nicholson also recently confirmed the presence of “billions of weapons and accessories.”