“Play Borderlands 4 first and understand the choices we’ve made,” Randy Pitchford tells fans querying minimap removal

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has revealed Borderlands 4 – which boasts the biggest Borderlands map to date “by far” – has no minimap because the team “wants you to play the game and not play the map”.

Addressing fans queries and questions on a panel at PAX East yesterday, Pitchford implored we “play the game first and understand the choices [the development team has] made” before passing judgement on changes Gearbox has made to the shooter’s head’s up display (HUD).

“We made a big freaking world,” Pitchford explained, as transcribed by PC Gamer. “And a lot of the things you do can be local space, but a lot of the things you do or want to do are out there, and a local space map is not a good way to navigate when you’re thinking about objectives and opportunities – several at the same time that might be miles away – and a compass really helps us do that.

“We want you to play the game and not play the map,” he added. “So we made a commitment, and we put all of that investment into this compass system, and you still have the big map. It’s one click away. And we put more cool stuff in there than we’ve ever done before. We even have, like, an AI-driven kind of navigation system that will give you a GPS on the big map to show you the line of where you can go.”

That said, Pitchford said the team was “open to thinking about things in the future” and implored players to do the same.

“[P]lay the game first and understand the choices we’ve made, and I think you’ll see and understand when you realise how big this world is and how playing the game in the world is better than playing the map.

“We’re on the offense, you guys,” he added. “Sometimes we’re like, white-knuckling to the landing, you know? And we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re working our asses off. But the momentum is insane. The velocity is insane. I don’t think we’ve ever been in a better spot this far from launch as we are with Borderlands 4.”

Borderlands 4, as we learned a couple of weeks ago, is now arriving earlier than expected on 12th September, and developer Gearbox recently shared more of its latest looter shooter in a new PlayStation showcase. It showed off a couple of new Vault Hunters, some of its new weapons, new traversal mechanics, its new planet, and more all to whip-up enthusiasm for what creative director Graeme Timmins called “hands-down our best Borderlands ever”.