Borderlands 4 Almost Included Ava as Part of its Story – Rumour

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Although *Borderlands 4* seems to have avoided some of the criticism that *Borderlands 3* received – particularly regarding its story and characters – it appears it was a close call. A modder and data miner known as EpicNNG discovered references to Ava, a character from *Borderlands 3*, within the files of *Borderlands 4*. It seems this character was removed from the game before it was released. Be aware that the following details contain spoilers for both *Borderlands 3* and *4*.

EpicNNG discovered files referencing a character named Ava within the data for *Borderlands 4*. Interestingly, it appears Ava was originally planned to be involved in a rescue mission for Lilith, working alongside Zane from *Borderlands 3*. However, the dataminer also found that Ava was later replaced by Amara, another playable character from *Borderlands 3*, suggesting a change in the game’s storyline.

According to a post on X (formerly Twitter), game files suggest a character was originally intended to team up with Zane to rescue Lilith, but was later replaced by Amara during the game’s development.

This would have placed Ava in the same game world where the ship, Sanctuary 3, crashed. The modder believes this is why Amara, a character in *Borderlands 4*, has abilities very similar to Ava’s, including a protective bubble used during the game. However, EpicNNG also pointed out that almost all traces of Ava have been removed from *Borderlands 4*, including her character model, textures, and audio, though some references still exist in the game’s internal files. It’s possible Ava could reappear in the future through downloadable content for *Borderlands 4*.

Gearbox, the company behind the game, hasn’t addressed the controversy surrounding the character Ava, which isn’t surprising. Ava proved to be a polarizing figure during Borderlands 3‘s story, and many fans expressed their dislike for her from the moment she appeared as part of Maya’s storyline. While some pointed out her questionable choices often worsened problems, Gearbox attempted to address this with additional character development added through post-launch missions.

While you wait, you can get a preview of what’s coming in *Borderlands 4* through its downloadable content. Last week, a brief trailer introduced C4SH, a new playable character who will be included in the *Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned* story pack.

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2025-10-08 19:16