Considering 7 years passed between Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3, there's not much point in fans holding their breaths for the next game. Instead, Borderlands 3's DLC is adding new levels of longevity to the game with new Takedowns, events, and more. Each story DLC adds new grinds, new legendaries to loot (Bounty of Blood included), and so much more—in many ways, bigger than Borderlands 2. That said, given the popularity of the franchise, a new Borderlands game will likely happen eventually.
The question becomes whether or not it'll be another numbered titled or if it'll be another spin-off like The Pre-Sequel, but that's a question that won't likely be answered for some time. The next question is what story threads or plot elements which Borderlands 3 introduced will finally carry over? After all, there's a lot of juggling threads that need resolution, including but not limited to, how Zer0 was created, whether or not Lilith is dead, what becomes of the crew after her death, and more. At the same time, Borderlands 3's Bounty of Blood DLC tosses in yet another variable to consider. MASSIVE SPOILERS for the DLC's story follows.
Borderlands 3 - Rose and Gehenna
Cementing the Bounty of Blood DLC as the Black Sheep of the family, the DLC has no returning characters. It instead features a brand new cast that puts players on a bit of a roller coaster, as the first character Rose is quickly confirmed to be the antagonist, a new Vault-like Monster is involved, and the Sheriff who put out the bounty dies quickly and is replaced by a new Sheriff, Juno.
It seems Salvador was relegated to an Easter Egg in the Guns, Love, and Tentacles DLC, whereas figures like Axton are completely left to the wayside. DLC 4 will be bringing a character back, but we'll come back to that. The main thing is that this DLC delivers what it promises, but it doesn't seem like the ride is over. Players spend the whole DLC trying to track down Rose (and collect on that bounty), trying to stop her from hatching the Ruiner, and it's the entire drive point of the DLC.
However, once we get to the end and beat Rose, she whistles a song that summons the Ruiner forth, leaving players to deal with it. Notably, a audio recording can be found of Rose's mother teaching her this song, saying that it may just save her life one day. It seems likely it did just that, as the Borderlands 3 player and the town of Vestige cannot find her body after defeating the Ruiner. In true western fashion, she just vanishes, but no one is gone forever.
In many ways, Gehenna could be seen as Red Dead Redemption 2's Guarma. An area to test assets, to test new methods, to introduce new element, and more, and that's exactly what this Borderlands 3 seems to accomplish. Why only introduce Gehenna for its short burst of DLC, as this could have easily taken place in another area of Pandora? Why introduce a brand new cast of characters, running that risk of them not connecting with players, when there's an entire cast of beloved fan-favorites? And more specifically, why introduce this antagonist with the whole story focused on her, have her disappear, and then presumably never be seen again?
On top of all this is the introduction of Core, something that seems really powerful, is reminiscent of Eridium a la Borderlands 2's story, and can hatch deathly monsters. There's a lot of new introductions, as well as potential mechanics, and it's hard to see this lasting for just one DLC. In short, the next Borderlands games and whenever that may be might just see the return of Gehenna, Vestige, Sheriff Juno, and at the very least, the return of Rose.
Borderlands 3 - What's Next?
Of course, as Borderlands 3 moves forward with its post-launch content, the big question becomes what's next? DLC 4 seems to be a psychological thriller-style DLC (as movie genres have influenced the past three: heist, lovecraftian horror, and western), and it has heavily, almost irrevocably teased the return of Borderlands 2's Krieg. There's likely to be another Takedown, some more events, but when the roadmap comes to an end, what's at the end of the road?
There's a few possibilities. It's not impossible that a brand new season pass comes to Borderlands 3, repeating the past year all over again with more story DLC, more events, and brand new content to keep the game alive. It's possible the story DLC comes to an end, with the focus being on that of events, Takedowns, and more. A third possibility is the post-launch content of the game coming to an end, with general support remaining while developers go elsewhere.
If the game continues, then a "return to Gehenna" style DLC focusing on Rose again would make a lot of sense, but it's unlikely for her to appear in DLC 4. There's likely no connection between her and Krieg for that to make sense, but it's clear that she's set up to return; otherwise, "Rose's body was never found" really loses a lot of weight behind it. As in horror movies, the killer's body is never found so they can return to finish the job, and that's the boat Rose finds herself in in Borderlands 3.
Whether that's in a new set of Borderlands 3 DLC, which isn't the strangest idea as this is the first Borderlands game in the world of on-going games, or not remains to be seen, but this could be a Destiny 2 style approach (for example). At the same time, there's enough just up in the air that could be patched together within a new story, completing justifying Borderlands 4 or some continuance if it's in a few years. Rose will likely return to the Borderlands world at some point, perhaps she'll be the next (but inverted) Nisha, and it'll be interesting to see if this DLC brings more to the table than first glance would suggest.
Borderlands 3: Bounty of Blood - A Fistful of Redemption is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.