Zayn Malik has released a new single, “Break Free,” as part of a promotional tie-in with Borderlands 4. The track arrives alongside the game’s worldwide launch and is being billed as inspired by the franchise’s high-octane action and new setting on the planet Kairos.
Malik has said that he’s a gamer, and often plays console sessions with his UK friends. He’s mentioned having played Borderlands before, making this a fun collab for him. The collaboration fits neatly into a trend of music crossovers being used to extend a game’s reach beyond its core audience.
As for Borderlands 4 itself, early reception has been mixed. Critics generally highlight refinements over Borderlands 3, while fans are have been saying “this is the best Borderlands game”. The new vault hunters, action skills, traversal, and paring back on the over-the-top humour is hitting all the right notes.
That said, the release has been marred by complaints of performance issues, crashes, and bugs affecting co-op progression. It’s an uneven but positive release that will likely smooth itself out with updates and bug fixes.