Borderlands Games in Order: What to Play First (and What You Can Skip)

The best Borderlands order is release order: Borderlands, Borderlands 2, The Pre-Sequel, then Borderlands 3. Tales from the Borderlands fits after Borderlands 2, and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is a standalone spinoff you can play whenever. If you only have time for one, start with Borderlands 2. If you want the full story, start at the beginning.

I've sunk a stupid number of hours into this series, mostly in co-op with friends who all insisted on playing the Siren. Here's how I'd actually play through it, what's worth your time, and where cheap keys make sense.

Why the order matters (a little)

Borderlands isn't Dark Souls lore soup. You can jump in anywhere and understand the basics: you're a Vault Hunter, you shoot things, the guns are ridiculous. But the series has real characters who come back, and a few payoffs land much harder if you've met the people involved.

Handsome Jack is the big one. He's the best thing about Borderlands 2, and The Pre-Sequel is basically his origin story. Play that one first and you'll miss half the fun. Play it second and you get to watch a guy slide into villainy while you already know how it ends.

There are two ways to line things up: by release date and by in-universe timeline. They're slightly different.

Release order

1. Borderlands (2009)
2. Borderlands 2 (2012)
3. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (2014)
4. Tales from the Borderlands (2014 to 2015)
5. Borderlands 3 (2019)
6. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (2022, spinoff)
7. Borderlands 4 (2025)

Story order

1. Borderlands
2. The Pre-Sequel (it takes place between the first two games)
3. Borderlands 2
4. Tales from the Borderlands
5. Borderlands 3
6. Borderlands 4

My advice: use release order. The Pre-Sequel works much better once you've fallen for Jack in Borderlands 2, and the gameplay builds on itself the way the developers intended.

Borderlands 1: worth it in 2026?

Yes, with a caveat. The original is slower and more barren than what came later. Pandora is a lot of brown. The driving is clunky, and the quest design leans on "go there, kill that, walk back." But the loot hunting is already addictive, and the Enhanced version cleaned up enough that it doesn't feel like a fossil.

The version to get is Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced, which is $2.79 on GameRealm as I write this. It bundles the main game with the four story DLCs: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx and Claptrap's New Robot Revolution. Zombie Island is a legitimately great little campaign. Knoxx raises the level cap and gives you a proper endgame.

Playing solo, it takes maybe 25 to 35 hours with the DLC. In co-op it moves faster, because someone always drags you toward a vending machine.

Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel

Borderlands 2 is the one everybody recommends, and they're right. The writing is sharper, the world is more colorful, and Handsome Jack gives the whole thing a spine. The Tiny Tina DLC, Assault on Dragon Keep, is the highlight and a clear preview of where Wonderlands came from.

The Pre-Sequel gets unfairly dunked on. The low-gravity moon, oxygen mechanic and laser guns make combat feel different, with big floaty jumps and slams. It's a bit grindy and some environments are dull, but it's short enough that it doesn't wear out its welcome. I wouldn't call it essential, but I'd play it.

I'm not linking either from GameRealm because I don't see them in the listings I'm working from, so check the offers page in case that changes.

Tales from the Borderlands: yes, play it

This is a Telltale adventure, not a shooter. You pick dialogue, you hit quick-time prompts, and you follow Rhys and Fiona through a story about a vault key and a lot of lies. It's funny, it's warm, and it has one of the best opening sequences in any Telltale game.

It takes place after Borderlands 2, so it's a good palate cleanser before the third game. Skip it if you hate narrative games, but if you like the Borderlands characters at all, it's the best argument for them.

Borderlands 3 and where the DLC fits

Borderlands 3 is a big, loud, polished shooter. Movement is better, with sliding and mantling. The guns feel excellent. Four new Vault Hunters, Amara, FL4K, Moze and Zane, all play differently, and the endgame with Mayhem modifiers keeps the loot treadmill going.

The story is where people split. The Calypso Twins are not Handsome Jack, and the jokes sometimes feel like they're trying too hard. But as a pure looter shooter, it's hard to beat, especially with friends.

There are a few ways to buy in on GameRealm, all Epic keys:

• Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition at $1.23, the one I'd look at first. Check the listing for exactly what's bundled.
• Borderlands 3 Season Pass at $7.29, if you already own the base game and want the campaign add-ons.
• Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck DLC at $1.23, if you only want that one.

Prices on key sites move, so double check the product page before you pay. The Season Pass costing more than the Super Deluxe Edition looks odd, but that's why you read what's included.

Of the add-ons, Psycho Krieg is the one I'd prioritize. It's a trippy trip inside Krieg's head, a very different tone from the rest of the game, and it has some of the best writing in Borderlands 3. Heist of the Handsome Jackpot is the one that most feels like a classic Borderlands expansion.

Wonderlands and Borderlands 4

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is Borderlands in a tabletop fantasy skin, with spells, melee, and a multiclass system. It's a spinoff, so you don't need any of the earlier games, and I'd say it's the most fun for a short co-op run.

Borderlands 4 launched last year and moves the series to a new planet, Kairos, with new Vault Hunters. You can play it without much prior knowledge, though you'll catch more references if you've done the others. I haven't covered it in depth here, so I'll leave a full verdict for another post.

A cheap way to get through the backlog

Steam and Epic sales have been loud on Reddit lately. Control Resonant is getting discounted everywhere and people are grabbing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth at 85% off on Epic. That's great, but it's also how backlogs grow. My rule is simple: finish one series before buying the next big thing.

Borderlands is a good fit for that rule. The older games are cheap, the campaigns are long enough to feel substantial, and co-op keeps them fresh. If you pay with crypto, GameRealm takes USDT, which is how I usually buy. Anything unclear about delivery or redemption is covered in the FAQ.

My suggested path

• Short on time: Borderlands 2, then Borderlands 3.
• Want the full story: Borderlands GOTY Enhanced, Borderlands 2, The Pre-Sequel, Tales, Borderlands 3.
• Just want chaotic co-op: Borderlands 3 with the DLC, or Wonderlands.
• Dislike repetitive loot grinding: Tales from the Borderlands and a Borderlands 2 story run, nothing more.

Whichever you choose, make sure you redeem on the right launcher. The Borderlands GOTY key is for Steam. The Borderlands 3 items listed here are Epic keys.