Where does Borderlands 4 take place?

Borderlands 4 is a new tale of adventure and treasures, taking players to a brand-new world away from the series' past roots on the fictional planet of Pandora. This time, fans will visit the all-new planet of Kairos by stepping into the shoes of a gang of new Vault Hunters. The fresh, unexplored world full of potential discoveries and danger awaits both newcomers and fans.

This article covers everything there is to know about Kairos, the main setting of Borderlands 4.

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Borderlands 4 takes Vault Hunters to Kairos

Tackle enemy strongholds and handcrafted set-pieces across Kairos (Image via 2K)

After being hidden from detection by its tyrannical ruler known as the Timekeeper, Kairos was uncovered after the Siren Lillith crashed into Pandora's Moon Elpis to teleport it away at the end of Borderlands 3. With the moon crashing into the planet, the cataclysmic event shook the Timekeeper's hold on its denizens, causing a civil uprising to start bubbling under the surface.

Kairos differs slightly from past Borderlands worlds by being a large, seamless sandbox featuring various biomes (note, however, that it is not a fully open-world setting). With the planet controlled by the entity known as the Timekeeper and his ruthless army of the Order, the Vault Hunters must traverse Kairos and deal with the main villain while aiding the Crimson Resistance against him.

The planet is home to a variety of unique biomes, with locations like:

• Fadefield with lush areas and hills
• Terminus Range's snowy tundrascapes
• Carcadia Burn and its barren, ruined lands
• The Timekeeper's heavily guarded fortress city, known as the Dominion

In a first for the series, this semi-open world will feature various side activities, dynamic weather, and events such as mini-bosses. Furthermore, utilizing a variety of new traversal and movement abilities like sliding, climbing, and gliding makes getting around Kairos feel fresh.

As always, vehicular traversal is also available this time around in the latest Borderlands adventure. The game has a variety of hovercrafts and other sci-fi rides, which can be customized as desired. If the journey gets too tedious, then worry not; players will be able to tackle this adventure either solo or with up to four players in co-op, as is tradition for the beloved FPS/RPG looter shooter franchise.

Borderlands 4 will be available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S from September 12, 2025. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is also planned for later this year.