The Borderlands 4 Narrative Director, Sam Winkler, has suggested plans to cut back on the series’ brand of toilet humor with the upcoming entry of the long-running series. He tweeted that he remains ‘firm in his criticism’ of Borderlands 3, which he stated featured an “overabundance of toilet humor.”
In addition to this, when responding to a fan about possible appearances of the popular internet meme Skibidi Toilet, Sam responded by saying “I’m not gonna say there’s no toilets but if the word skibidi ships in the game under my watch I’m gonna cry real tears.”
Borderlands launched back in 2009 and have become very well-known for over-the-top, and often low-brow humor. This has become somewhat of a defining quality of the game, as is its fast-paced gunplay and loot mechanic. One example of this, featured in 2012’s Borderlands 2 involved the core villain handsome Jack mocking the player over the radio about a stallion he had purchased made of pure diamond. He then begins to give it crass names, suggesting a lack of any attachment to the stallion as it was just an extension of his wealth, before landing on the name Butt Stallion.
While not ever physically seen in the game, Butt Stallion would go on to be a popular marketing character, going on to appear in several DLC for Borderlands 2, as well as play a role in series spin-offs Tiny Tina’s Wonderland and Tales From The Borderlands, also receiving a funko pop and several plushies as well. The character was also available in plush form as part of the Tiny Tina’s Wonderland collector’s edition.
Borderlands 4, on the other hand, when first introduced during Gamescom 2024 appeared to take on a much darker tone than its predecessors, with the full gameplay reveal from The Video Game Awards appearing to double down on this take. To this date, the Borderlands franchise has sold an impressive 81 million copies for Gearbox. We will have to see what Borderlands 4 adds to that number.
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