If you’ve followed the Borderlands series, you know DLC is already in the works for Borderlands 4. The team at Gearbox Software has been on a roll sharing details about the upcoming game, hoping to win back fans after Borderlands 3, and has now shared the post-launch roadmap. Borderlands 4 is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on September 12 while the Switch 2 gets it on October 3. According to the roadmap, the first Story Pack goes live in Q1 2026.
Each Story Pack includes multiple main missions and side missions taking place in a new zone of Kairos, along with a new Vault Hunter, new gear, and numerous cosmetics. The first one is titled Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, a cosmic-horror-inspired tale. It stars Ellie, Moxxi’s daughter and a Pandoran mechanic. That’s about all Gearbox is willing to share right now, but it has confirmed that players will see new and returning characters in each Story Pack.
The game will also offer Bounty Packs, which include “bite-sized-yet-flavorful” narrative content, plus new gear, cosmetics, and a Vault Card that unlocks additional loot through gameplay. A total of four Bounty Packs are included in the Bounty Pack Bundle that comes with the Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions. Each Bounty Pack boasts new Main Missions as well as a new Boss; the first focuses on Rush, the leader of the Outbounders faction in Fadefields.
Vault Cards act as boosts that grant more loot and XP via daily and weekly challenges. It’s basically a season pass that lets you gain levels and unlock rewards as you play Borderlands 4. Vault Cards will also be available as part of an individual Bounty Pack.
Along with the paid content, the team is dedicated to providing free content updates to all players. This includes Invincible Bosses, who are variants of existing bosses that have new mechanics, massive health pools, crazy damage, and other modifiers. Currently, the first Invincible Boss is scheduled to land sometime in Q4 2025. Players can also look forward to weekly challenges, ranging from the Big Encore Boss to Wildcard Missions and Maurice’s Black Market Machine.
Pearlescents will also return in Borderlands 4, a loot tier above Legendary. These will arrive as a free update to all players in Q1 2026 alongside Bounty Pack 2. There will also be seasonal mini-events, starting with Halloween in October. More details are coming, but they will only be available for a limited time.
We’re really looking forward to Borderlands 4, despite how disappointed we were with Borderlands 3. I consider Borderlands 2 one of the best games I’ve ever played, and I’m really hoping Borderlands 4 can right the ship and bring back some of the entertainment we’ve been desperately looking for in a looter shooter.
