Ava: Ava was in Borderlands 4 during development, datamining suggests

While Borderlands 4 has many Vault Hunters from past entries, one is missing: Ava. However, recent dataminings suggest that the controversial Siren character from Borderlands 3 was indeed planned to make an appearance in the latest entry, but was eventually scrapped. This would ultimately be good news for fans, as the character was not liked by the community due to problematic writing in the previous game.

Here's everything to know about Ava missing from Borderlands 4.

Note: This article is based on datamined information that hasn't been officially confirmed. Readers are thereby advised to take it with a grain of salt.

Also read: Do you need to play Borderlands 3 before Borderlands 4?

Ava was seemingly set to play a major role in Borderlands 4 before being cut

X user @EpicNNG shared a screenshot of datamined files from the latest Borderlands entry, directly name-dropping Ava. These pertain to cutscene segments where Ava would go through the major set-pieces with Zane, one of the Borderlands 3 Vault Hunters who returns as an NPC in the latest entry.

Since she was going to be partnering with them, she would play a role in the plot as the Vault Hunters figure out a plan to stop the evil Timekeeper. Furthermore, there seem to be assets for her model as well as the Phase Bubble ability she used in Borderlands 3.

However, she is nowhere to be found in the newest game. It seems like Gearbox Software, after analyzing the negative reaction to the character's debut in Borderlands 3, decided to remove her completely from the story. Considering Amara projects the same bubble shield Ava did in the previous story, this makes sense.

Now, newcomers may be wondering what the big deal is. Those who have not played Borderlands 3 should know that Ava was a new character introduced in the 2019 looter-shooter game. However, developer Gearbox Software didn't just botch the writing by giving Ava an insufferable personality, but ensured that she was the next face of the Sirens.

Making matters even worse, they justified this by killing off Maya, a returning beloved Siren character from Borderlands 2, which infuriated the community. The studio seemingly heard the backlash and decided to tone down the meme humor for Borderlands 4, compensating even further by removing Ava altogether.

That said, while this seems like a step in the right direction, the community might never really forgive Gearbox for mishandling Maya's death in Borderlands 3, with or without Ava.

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About the author

Siddharth is an esports and gaming writer at Sportkseeda. With nearly 10 years of experience in the industry, he also contributed to renowned publications like Gameffine (formerly IndianNoob), the British retro FPS magazine E1M1, and Gaming Purists, the latter being a passion project which he founded with friends.

Holding a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Siddharth's journalistic pursuits extend beyond reporting; he throws himself into the heart of gaming communities. His positive exploits in the industry have led him to interviewing Rohit Jain, a prominent Tekken 7 player from India.

Though he currently specializes in Nintendo, Overwatch 2, and RPG coverage, Siddharth's expertise spans a multitude of platforms and genres. He believes in doing extensive research across a mix of official, community-driven and diverse media sources for all of his article categories.

Siddharth has been an avid follower of Pewdiepie, which has also helped him expand his horizons to new gaming genres and titles. Beyond gaming, he indulges his love for literature with a particular fondness for horror and thriller novels. Moreover, Siddharth’s culinary enthusiasm for global cuisine enriches his palate.

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Edited by Niladri Roy