You now have a Borderlands game on your phone. You didn't notice because it was only released yesterday, and neither 2K nor Gearbox actually mentioned it. Technically it doesn't even have a name. All of which led fans of the series to think that the game was accidentally shadow-dropped, but apparently not.
The quiet release of Frontier Mobile was not an accident
Borderlands Mobile appeared on the iOS Store on Thursday, but only in certain regions. It's free to download, you have one character when you start, but a few more appear to unlock as you progress. That's all according to Forbes, which after reaching out to 2K to find out what's going on, can confirm that it was no accident.
Borderlands 4's launch sales weren't so soft after all
Call of duty has not been kept.
Developed by Zynga, the mobile developer Take-Two acquired four years ago for more than $12 billion, the mobile Borderland game was scheduled for an unannounced release in the US on Thursday. 2K officially describes this as a limited-time trial for the untitled Borderlands game, hence launching the game without the aforementioned part of the name.
2K didn't comment on how long that limited time would be, nor whether a test of the mobile spinoff would be available outside the US. It confirmed that, although Zynga developed the game, Borderlands studio Gearbox assisted, providing guidance on the history and lore. Based on the few screenshots and limited footage I've seen from Borderlands Mobile I'm assuming they've also shared some Borderlands assets with Zynga.
Borderlands Mobile has a place in the series' timeline
It's a little early to predict if Borderlands fans will like the mobile game because its audience is limited, it's not a full game, and very few people have played it since it launched out of nowhere without an official announcement, let alone any fanfare. It does seem to have a chance to play in the wider Borderlands canon, however, as the game has been confirmed to take place between the events of Borderlands 3 and Borderlands 4.
Although it's technically free-to-play, it has a battle pass, and I'm going to go out on a very short limb and speculate that microtransactions are how 2K and Zynga plan to make sure this game makes money. It might be a hit with Borderlands fans because it has popular features like raids right from the start, which you don't unlock until the end of the main games in the series.
As is often the case with mobile spinoffs for video games made for PC and consoles, you'll struggle to find anyone asking for one. This may be why 2K is taking this approach. Shadow release a limited trial of an unknown, incomplete game, and see if people are into it. If they are, great. If not, forget about it and move on.
- issued
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September 12, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, User Interaction
