Borderlands 4 narrative director Sam Winkler has revealed that he intends to tone down what he identifies as an "overabundance of toilet humor" in the series' previous game.
Speaking to a follower on social media platform X, Winkler says that while he's "not at liberty" to discuss the narrative content of Borderlands 4 at the moment, he remains "firm" in his "criticism of Borderlands 3's overabundance of toilet humor".
Another Borderlands fan then humorously asks Winkler if they'll be able to "use the poop poop farty 4000" to "clean up porta-potties with my companion skibidi toilet", which is a sentence that physically hurt me to write, even though I'm quoting someone else's sarcastic observation.
In response to this painfully-worded question (for which props must begrudgingly go to the post's writer Moxsy), Winkler says that while he can't guarantee there will be "no toilets", he'll "cry real tears" if "the word skibidi ships in the game".
He goes on to say that writer Paul Tassi joked Borderlands 4 would feature a gun called "Hawk 2A" (a reference to the famous Hawk Tuah meme) and that this suggestion prompted a fellow dev to ask if that gun was real.
That question, Winkler said, made him want to "put [his] hand down the sink grinder", so it sounds like Borderlands 4 will also de-emphasize the kind of meme humor for which the series has become known.
With all of that said, the thread originally began with Winkler praising Borderlands 4's contract writers as "some of the funniest people [he knows]", so the game definitely won't be a serious grimdark take on the series.
The first gameplay trailer for Borderlands 4 was revealed during this year's Game Awards, alongside the likes of an Okami sequel, a co-op survival spinoff of Elden Ring, and Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Gearbox describes the game as a "mayhem-fueled looter shooter" packed with "billions of weapons, outrageous enemies, and intense co-op action", which sounds about right for the Borderlands series.
Borderlands 4 is set to come to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S next year.
