Borderlands 4 Leak Suggests Controversial Character Ava Was Replaced by Amara Late in Development

Borderlands 4 hasn’t even hit full stride yet, and already dataminers are peeling back its layers to reveal secrets that hint at a very different development path. The most surprising revelation so far? A familiar and much-hated face from Borderlands 3 – the controversial character Ava – was reportedly part of the original Borderlands 4 plans before being quietly replaced late in production.

According to prominent modder and dataminer EpicNNG, traces of Ava remain buried deep within the new game’s files, indicating that she was originally set to join returning Vault Hunter Zane in a mission to save Lilith. But in what now appears to have been a last-minute creative pivot, she was replaced by Amara, one of the fan-favorite Sirens from Borderlands 3.

EpicNNG shared their findings on social media, explaining that remnants of Ava’s data, including code references and companion markers, were hidden among the game’s assets. “She was going to help Zane save Lilith and hang around Sanctuary 3 after its crash,” the dataminer explained. “There’s even overlap between her intended abilities and Amara’s current set – which tells me Amara inherited Ava’s role wholesale.” In other words, Amara may have been a late substitute, rewritten to occupy the story slot once meant for the franchise’s least popular Siren.

What makes this discovery particularly striking is the extent to which Gearbox apparently scrubbed Ava from existence. According to EpicNNG, her models, voice lines, and mission files are gone. “Everything has been wiped – except a few leftover references,” they said. “Maybe it’s an intentional breadcrumb, maybe an oversight. But the decision seems final, at least for Borderlands 4’s first content year.” That alone has been enough to reignite one of Borderlands’ most enduring controversies – the polarizing legacy of Ava.

Ava’s introduction in 2019’s Borderlands 3 was, to put it mildly, divisive. She was pitched as the next generation of Siren – young, rebellious, destined for greatness. But fans never warmed up to her. Many blamed her impulsive actions for the death of Maya, one of Borderlands 2’s most beloved characters. “Ava was supposed to be the scrappy underdog,” one longtime fan recalled, “but instead she came off as an arrogant kid who caused chaos and then dodged responsibility.” Others felt she was a symbol of everything that went wrong with BL3’s writing – a rushed attempt to inject youthful energy into a story that didn’t need it.

Redditor ArmaMalum summarized the frustration perfectly: “She starts off as an angry, lost teenager and ends as a self-righteous hero, but without the growth to justify it. Her arc skips all the development. One minute she’s sulking, the next she’s spouting wisdom. There’s no reflection, no lessons – just a script flip.” Another fan compared the entire sequence involving Maya’s death to Game of Thrones’ final season: ambitious in concept, lazy in execution. “It’s not that they killed Maya,” wrote user zeal3000. “It’s that they did it so badly. The scene was rushed, and then Ava blamed Lilith. It felt like parody.”

Given that history, it’s little wonder Gearbox might have had second thoughts about bringing Ava back. As one Reddit user put it, “Even Randy Pitchford must’ve known she was radioactive.” Indeed, Pitchford himself asked fans what they thought of Ava in a 2024 Twitter poll – and the results were overwhelmingly negative. The message was clear: if Borderlands 4 wanted to win back its audience, it had to let some ghosts stay buried.

EpicNNG speculated that leaving Ava’s traces in the code might have been deliberate, perhaps as an inside joke or even as quiet acknowledgment of what could have been. “Borderlands 4’s data structure is super tight – nothing gets left in by accident. So yeah, I think this was intentional,” they said. That theory fits with Gearbox’s sometimes playful attitude toward its own history, but fans are still reading it as a symbolic cleansing. “Regardless of how late the decision was, it was absolutely the right one,” said one fan. “Amara and Zane have great chemistry. BL4’s story feels tighter without the baggage.”

And that’s the core of it – video game development is chaos, even under the best conditions. Creative directions shift. Characters are rewritten or erased. But few changes feel as loaded as this one. Ava’s erasure isn’t just about one NPC; it’s about course-correcting after a creative misfire. Borderlands 4, from all appearances, is trying to recapture the tone and cohesion that made earlier entries so beloved. The decision to replace Ava with a proven character like Amara might be both a narrative and marketing necessity.

It’s hard to overstate how much fans have rallied around this discovery. Many see it as evidence that Gearbox listened – something the studio has often been criticized for not doing. “Ava was the Cousin Oliver of the Borderlands universe,” one player joked. “Late to the party, unwanted, and painfully out of place.” Another added, “Rare Gearbox W. Finally.” Others, however, argued that cutting her entirely is a missed opportunity. “They could’ve redeemed her,” wrote one dissenting voice. “Instead, they erased her. Same mistake – different form.”

As for the game itself, Borderlands 4 continues to evolve. Gearbox has been rolling out performance patches and weapon balance updates, with a new Vault Hunter, C4SH, slated for next year. Whether or not Ava ever returns in DLC remains uncertain, but her ghost lingers – both in the files and in the fandom’s memory. For now, Borderlands 4 seems determined to move forward without her, and many fans are breathing a sigh of relief.

After years of backlash, Borderlands may have finally learned one of the hardest lessons in franchise storytelling: sometimes, it’s better to delete than to develop.