Series guide
All Borderlands games in order
By Lenn Hodes · founder — every cartridge tested by hand · Updated
Borderlands is a shooter that hands out guns the way a role-playing game hands out swords, and it has done so across eight games since 2009. The numbering is straightforward; the prequel, the two adventure games and the collections are what confuse people. Below are all eight Borderlands games in release order, the story order, which collection holds what, and which ones you can play on a Switch.
The short answer
Borderlands (2009) → Borderlands 2 (2012) → The Pre-Sequel (2014) → Tales from the Borderlands (2014) → Borderlands 3 (2019) → Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands (2022) → New Tales from the Borderlands (2022) → Borderlands 4 (2025). Story order moves The Pre-Sequel between 1 and 2. On a Switch, the Legendary Collection holds the first three.
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Every Borderlands game in release order
- Borderlands · 2009 · PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 & PC — four Vault Hunters on the planet Pandora, looking for an alien Vault; 23 October 2009 — a shooter with role-playing loot, credited by Guinness with more than 17 million possible guns
- Borderlands 2 · 2012 · PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 & PC — five years later, a new team against Handsome Jack; September 2012 — four-player co-op with split-screen, and 2K’s best-selling game at 26 million copies
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel · 2014 · PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 & PC — made with 2K Australia and set between the first two games on Pandora’s moon Elpis — low gravity, oxygen tanks and the rise of Handsome Jack; 14 October 2014
- Tales from the Borderlands · 2014 · PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC & mobile — Telltale’s five-episode comedy adventure with Rhys and Fiona, from November 2014; a disc with all five episodes followed on 26 April 2016
- Borderlands 3 · 2019 · PlayStation 4, Xbox One & PC — 13 September 2019 — five million copies in five days, the biggest launch of the series; PS5 and Xbox Series versions with a free upgrade followed in November 2020
- Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands · 2022 · PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S & PC — a fantasy spin-off set inside a tabletop role-playing game, following on from the Borderlands 2 add-on Assault on Dragon Keep; March 2022
- New Tales from the Borderlands · 2022 · Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S & PC — Gearbox Studio Québec’s successor to the Telltale adventure, with a new cast; October 2022
- Borderlands 4 · 2025 · PS5, Xbox Series X/S & PC — set six years after Borderlands 3 on the planet Kairos, against a dictator called the Timekeeper; 12 September 2025
Collections and re-releases
- Borderlands: The Handsome Collection · 2015 · PS4 & Xbox One — Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel with all their add-on content, March 2015 — saves from the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions carry over; later also on Switch
- Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition · 2019 · PS4, Xbox One & PC — the remaster of the first game, 3 April 2019
— Borderlands, Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel together on the Switch, May 2020 — the first three shooters in one release
- Tales from the Borderlands (Switch) · 2021 · download — all five episodes in one package, republished by Gearbox in 2021
- Borderlands 3 (Switch) · 2023 · Nintendo Switch — the Switch version, 6 October 2023
- Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box · 2023 · download — a digital bundle of every game up to 2023 except Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, with the add-on content; 23 August 2023, on the Switch eShop from 25 July 2024
Do you have to play them in order?
It helps. The shooters tell one continuing story: Borderlands 2 builds on the first game, Borderlands 3 on both, and Borderlands 4 follows on six years later. The Pre-Sequel fills in what happened between the first two games, and Tales from the Borderlands bridges Borderlands 2 and 3. If you only want one, Borderlands 2 is the usual answer and explains itself well enough. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands stands entirely on its own.
Which Borderlands should you buy now?
- On a Switch: the Borderlands Legendary Collection — the first three shooters in one release.
- On PS4 or PS5: The Handsome Collection for Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel, then Borderlands 3, which has a free PS5 upgrade.
- Only one game: Borderlands 2, the best-selling game of the series.
- The newest: Borderlands 4 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S or PC.
Buying Borderlands second-hand
Three collections cover the first three games
On a Switch, the Borderlands Legendary Collection holds Borderlands, Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel. On PS4 and Xbox One the same three are split in two: Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition for the first game, and The Handsome Collection for Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel. Borderlands 3 and Borderlands 4 are sold on their own.
Which Borderlands games are on a Nintendo console
On the Switch: the Legendary Collection, The Handsome Collection, Tales from the Borderlands, New Tales from the Borderlands and Borderlands 3. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and Borderlands 4 are not — a Switch 2 version of Borderlands 4 was announced and then put on hold indefinitely. Switch game cards have no region lock, so a European copy plays on any Switch.
What a second-hand copy should have
Check the box of a Switch collection for a download notice: a multi-game card can need an extra download before every game on it is playable, so allow for free space on the console. Download codes for bonus content in a used box have usually been redeemed. We start every copy on real hardware before listing it; the condition on the product page describes that exact copy.
Every copy tested before it is listed
Booting, gameplay, saving, disc and label condition — checked on real hardware. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 4.8★, and we ship tracked worldwide — to all 27 EU countries and to the US, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Canada, Puerto Rico and almost every other country. Originals only; if something ever turns out not to be genuine, you get your money back.
Questions we get asked
What order should I play the Borderlands games in?
Release order: Borderlands, Borderlands 2, The Pre-Sequel, Tales from the Borderlands, Borderlands 3, Borderlands 4. The story order differs in one place — The Pre-Sequel is set between the first two games — but it is built around Handsome Jack, the villain of Borderlands 2, so it works best after that game. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and New Tales from the Borderlands are spin-offs you can play at any point.
What is the chronological order of the Borderlands games?
Borderlands (2009), then The Pre-Sequel, then Borderlands 2 five years after the first game, then Tales from the Borderlands, then Borderlands 3, and Borderlands 4 six years after that. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a tabletop game told by Tiny Tina and sits outside that line.
How many Borderlands games are there?
Eight: five shooters in the main line — Borderlands, Borderlands 2, The Pre-Sequel, Borderlands 3 and Borderlands 4 — plus the spin-offs Tales from the Borderlands, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and New Tales from the Borderlands. By November 2022 the series had shipped more than 77 million copies.
Which Borderlands games can I play on Nintendo Switch?
The first three in the Borderlands Legendary Collection (May 2020), Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel in The Handsome Collection, Tales from the Borderlands (2021), New Tales from the Borderlands (2022) and Borderlands 3 (October 2023). The digital Pandora’s Box bundle reached the eShop in July 2024.
Can you play Borderlands solo?
Yes. Every Borderlands shooter can be played alone from start to finish; co-op is optional. Borderlands 2 supports four players and split-screen, and its difficulty and loot scale up as more players join.
Do you ship outside the Netherlands?
We ship worldwide — to all 27 EU countries with track & trace, and beyond the EU to the US, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Canada, Puerto Rico and almost every other country. Parcels leave from the Netherlands, there are no customs charges within the EU — US and Puerto Rico orders include the import duty up front — and your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
Years given are the first release; re-releases and later platforms are in the second list.
