One of the skins for Maya is named "Rose Tailor", a possible reference to the character Rose Tyler from the science fiction series "Doctor Who".

Ashly Burch (the voice of Tiny Tina and Bane the cursed gun) is the sister of the lead writer, Anthony Burch. Both siblings produce and star in the web series Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?.

According to Anthony Burch, the lead writer, Tiny Tina was going to have another quest before it was cut. "After a certain character Spoiler: Roland dies, you get a quest to go tell all of Spoiler:his friends that the person is dead." This would include Tina and, for the first and only time, it would cause her to drop her carefree and insane attitude. She would thank you, give you a new weapon, and then lock herself in her workshop, which she could be heard crying in. Burch did not give a reason for the quest's removal but it is believed that since she lives out in the Tundra rather than at Sanctuary, meaning that players would have to trudge through an area filled with low-level enemies simply for a bit of dialog and a possibly useless weapon, the developers saw it to be not worth it.

Salvador has a skill called titled "Yippee Ki Yay," a reference to the film series Die Hard, in which this is the catch phrase of the main character.

Salvador has a head titled 'Breaking Bald' which makes him look like Walter White from the TV show Breaking Bad.

The mission "Won't Get Fooled Again" is a reference to the song of the same name by 'The Who' which is used as the theme tune of television series CSI: Miami. The mission requires the player to solve a murder and upon completion, Marshall Friedman will say a melodramatic one-liner like the main protagonist of the show 'Horatio Caine' does.

In the Tiny Tina DLC there is a side quest called "Winter is a Bloody Business.", which contains several references to Game of Thrones. King Jeffery is a reference to King Joffery, and the throne is similar to the show's Iron Throne, but made of guns instead of swords.

There is an enemy called Rakkman located in a cave in the fridge, a homage to the "Batman" series. He may drop a weapon called the Gunerang, a reference to Batman's Batarang. In the second play through, his name is changed to Rakkman Forever, a reference to the film Batman Forever.

The challenge titled "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Assault Rifle" is a reference to the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

There are several references to the Predator franchise made throughout the game. The skill "Sexual Tyrannosaurs" and "You ugly mother..." are lines said in Predator by Blain Cooper. The achievement/trophy "Unseen Predator" is a reference to the Predators cloaking device. One of the loading screen tips says "if Bleeds we can kill it etc." which is also a reference to the original film.

The mission "The Pretty Good Train Robbery" is a reference to the 1903 film, The Great Train Robbery.

There is a challenge in the 4th DLC called "FUSROHDIE". This is a reference to Skyrim's 'FUS RO DAH' dragon shout.

There is a challenge called "It's Not Easy Looting Green" which is a reference to Kermit the Frog's song "It's Not Easy Being Green".

There is an enemy called "King Mong", an homage to King Kong, that can be found in the game.

While fighting enemies as Axton, he may say "And YOU get a bullet, and YOU get a bullet! EVERYONE gets a bullet!" - a reference to Oprah Winfrey's energetic nature and giving audience members gifts.

In the Caustic Caverns, across the acid water, there is a small island with a Knight named Solitaire sitting on a ledge in front of a bonfire. White phantoms are also sitting in front of the bonfire. This is a reference to Dark Souls, with Solitaire being a reference to the knight Solaire of Astora.

The skin "Vault Dweller" for the Siren is a reference to the outfits worn by the members of the vaults from the Fallout series. It follows its color pattern with blue body and yellow highlights.

In the mission Assassinate the Assassins, the Assassins are called "Wot", "Reeth", "Rouf" and "Oney". "Wot", "Reeth" and "Rouf" are anagrams of "Two", "Three" and "Four" while "Oney" is just "one" with a "y" on the end.

There is a unique relic in the game called the "Deputy's Badge" which is awarded for finishing the mission "The Showdown". Part of its description reads "Who the hell shot me?", a reference to the Bob Marley song "I Shot The Sheriff", the chorus for which begins with "I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy."

In the Hammerlock DLC there is a side quest "The Rack Dahlia Murder". The mission title is a reference to the unsolved 1947 Black Dahlia murder that occurred in California.