A Minimap Would Be "Extremely Confusing" In Borderlands 4, Says Gearbox CEO

Summary

Borderlands 4 is controversially swapping out the minimap for a compass.
That’s because the world is far more vertical, and Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford believed that navigating a layered 3D space with a 2D map would be “extremely confusing”.
Instead, the compass will mark whether an objective is above or below you via labelled arrows.

You might’ve noticed that something was missing from the new Borderlands 4 gameplay footage — the minimap. You’re not alone. Fans were so upset to see its absence that the backlash even caught the attention of Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford.

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“Here’s the deal: you guys haven’t played the game yet,” Pitchford said at a PAX East panel (via GamesRadar). “You know, obviously, when we did Borderlands 1, we didn’t have a mini map, and we added it in Borderlands 2. And we noticed that there’s some people online going, ‘Wait, we haven’t seen a minimap in what you’ve shown so far. What’s going on there?

“I’ll tell you the deal – I’ll just be straight with you. We made a big freaking world and a lot of the things you do can be in local space, but a lot of the things you do or want to do are out there. A local space map is not a good way to navigate when you’re thinking about objectives and opportunities, several at the same time, that might be miles away. A compass really helps us do that.”

Borderlands 4 Is Too Vertical For A Minimap

While Pitchford is hesitant to label Borderlands 4 an open world, he did say that it’s the “most open and free” game Gearbox has ever made. “You see something anywhere on the screen, a mile away, up in the sky, you will be able to get there,” he explained. Verticality is the core of this hotly anticipated FPS sequel, with Pitchford saying that it’s “by far” the most layered.

We want you to play the game, and not play the map.

That’s because Gearbox didn’t want a “single flat place” like with the original three games. But that came with a slight problem: Pitchford argued that a 2D map would be “extremely confusing” when trying to navigate so many different layers. The compass is better fitted for this new approach, as arrows will mark whether an objective is above or below you, giving you much better “spatial awareness”.

I don’t know about you, but trying to navigate the complex, layered, holographic maps of the Jedi games always gave me a bit of a headache, so I’m ready to welcome a more intuitive compass that tells me exactly what direction objectives are in.