It's hard to know what to think about Borderlands 4. It seems that, whenever Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford opens his mouth, he says something ill-considered and cringeworthy. That said, ill-considered and cringeworthy are accurate adjectives to describe the Borderlands series as a whole—in a good way. Claptrap alone fulfils both of those criteria, and we love him for it. Right? Despite Pitchford saying yet more stuff this week, we've been at Gamescom with the devs themselves to hear more about Borderlands 4, from how the devs approached the zippy traversal, to the question of post-launch DLC.
"We're concentrated on launching the game and making sure that everybody's excited," Anthony Nicholson, Borderlands 4 senior project producer, caveats before answering our questions about potential DLC. It's a fair stance to take, considering the Borderlands 4 release date isn't until next month.
But if the newcomer wants to be considered among the best FPS games to release this year, it needs to follow up a good start with great post-launch additions. That's just the way the world works these days.
"We'll be talking about post-launch stuff very soon," he promises. "But if you've paid attention to Borderlands 3, then you can expect something similar."
Turning back the clock, Borderlands 3 was released in September 2019. The first piece of DLC, Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, was released in December of the same year, followed by the Lovecraftian Guns, Love, and Tentacles in March the following year. Bounty of Blood released in June 2020, and Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck (you're never beating those allegations of cringe behavior, Borderlands) in September 2020.
All four Borderlands 3 content packs were released within a year of the base game, and all were available as a part of the game's first season pass. If all goes to plan, it seems that Gearbox wants to follow a similar cadence for Borderlands 4.
Ensure you've got a PC ready to play by checking out the Borderlands 4 system requirements before you click download. It'll look great on one of the best gaming monitors, if you think it's time for an upgrade.
Will you be buying Borderlands 4 at launch? Pop into our community Discord server to discuss it with other readers and staff.
Additional reporting from Gamescom by Jamie Hore.