Borderlands 4 Player Count Spikes As Thirsty Gamers Enjoy ‘Loveless’
Borderlands 4 is experiencing a significant surge in player count on Steam, reaching levels not seen since the weeks following its September 2025 launch. The spike is driven by two factors: a limited-time free weekend promotion on the platform, and the release of a new DLC character called Loveless.
Loveless is the latest Vault Hunter addition to the four-player cooperative shooter. The character, a hacker archetype, has attracted substantial player interest and attention online, partly due to the character’s design which some have characterized as deliberately attractive or “gooner bait.” The character release comes at a strategic time for Gearbox, as the game’s player base had been declining before this resurgence.
While Borderlands 4 received a mixed critical reception upon its 2025 launch, the combination of free access and fresh content appears to have temporarily reinvigorated interest in the title. The free weekend represents a classic strategy for live-service games to attract new and returning players during content releases, with the hope that engaged players will convert to long-term players or make purchases.