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Borderlands 4 Post-Launch Plans Include New Vault Hunters, But They Won't Be Free

Borderlands 4 developer Gearbox has outlined its post-launch plans for the game, which include new Vault Hunters. These new additions to the roster won't be free, however, as they'll be added to the game through the $130 Super Deluxe Edition. Gearbox has not yet revealed if they'll be available as standalone purchases, but it's likely that the new Story Packs or an upgrade can be purchased for the Standard or Deluxe Edition of Borderlands 4.

In addition to the new Story Packs adding more Vault Hunters, these will also throw in an entirely new region of Kairos with extended narrative content, Gearbox said in a blog post. Additional storylines and side missions will be included alongside various cosmetics and Bounty Packs that will feature "more tightly focused content" for players.

Each Bounty Pack will feature a new area with fresh missions alongside a unique boss fight, loot, a new type of personalized Digirunner vehicle, and a Vault Card with its own set of rewards for completing certain challenges. Bounty Packs will be included in the Deluxe and Super Deluxe Editions of the game.

The previous mainline Borderlands games have had four post-launch expansions. The first Borderlands game introduced fan-favorite character Moxxi in the Underdome Riot expansion, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep from Borderlands 2 was critically acclaimed, and Borderlands 3 brought back everyone's favorite villain Handsome Jack--kind of--for a heist story.

Paywalling new Vault Hunters behind post-launch content isn't unusual either for the series, as characters like Gaige, Krieg, Handsome Jack's doppelganger Timothy, and Aurelia were all available as DLC or as preorder bonuses. The only exception to the rule is Borderlands 3, as all four playable Vault Hunters were available at launch and no additional characters were introduced as post-launch DLC.

Borderlands 3 also had a lot of free DLC added to it over the years, with one of the more notable examples being a block-shifting puzzle game that helped real-world scientists organize data. Millions of players took part in this project, and they were officially recognized as scientific contributors for their help. Borderlands 4 launches on September 12 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2, and ahead of its arrival, Gearbox has been sharing a few more details on the game.

We've already seen some of the big co-op changes that Gearbox has been working on, more details on the new Vault Hunters have been revealed, and the loot system has also been overhauled.