Like most open-world games, Borderlands 4 will have its fair share of collectibles to hunt down. The catch here is that you’ll need to really work to get your hands on collectible bobblehead replicas of everyone’s refund-adverse arms dealer, Marcus, as these will be hidden away in hard-to-reach areas.
As detailed by Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford, the idea for these collectibles came from the studio wanting to push the game’s enhanced move-set to its very limits. Borderlands 4 has several new traversal options–including gliding, double-jumping, and using a grapple-hook to move around areas–and Gearbox wanted to reward players with a memento for reaching remote spots on the map.
“Graeme Timmons–Borderlands 4’s creative director–got with some of our designers and other artists and engineers and decided that we needed something for players to find when they made their way to these remote or uninhabited areas,” Pitchford tweeted. “We wanted something of an icon. The same kind of thing in each spot, so players would know they found it. The item had to be simple, recognizable, have a feeling of being something one might collect–and ideally–having real connections to our universe.”
This led to the Marcus bobblehead being chosen, and there’s even an in-universe reason for these being on the isolationist planet of Kairos. As Pitchford noted, there are “well over 200” of these bobbleheads to collect, and he expects that most players will never see any of them. “A very, very small number of people will explore Kairos so completely that they might discover them all. Each has a story,” Pitchford added, while also throwing down a gauntlet to players with the inclusion of a map showing off the locations of these collectibles.
All in all, there are well over 200 Marcus Bobbleheads hidden around Kairos. I expect most players will never see any of them. Some may find a few. A very, very small number of people will explore Kairos so completely that they might discover them all. Each has a story. 12/12 pic.twitter.com/OZBVD40CF2
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) July 13, 2025
As its September 12 release date draws closer, Gearbox has steadily been ramping up demonstrations of Borderlands 4. A recent trailer put the new Siren Vex in the spotlight, showing off her spooky abilities in action. The game also looks set to introduce several improvements to the looter-shooter’s gameplay, including a very welcome volume slider for Claptrap.