The possibility that Borderlands 3 gets another wave of DLCs in its second year of life is officially on the table. It isn't guaranteed—on the contrary, there's a significant chance that nothing will happen. Even so, one can't take it lightly when the CEO of Gearbox asks the community what it would want to see out of another round of Borderlands 3 expansions. That kind of community outreach is always cause for excitement, and the Borderlands fanbase didn't hesitate to show their investment. The tweet was answered with a deluge of opinions on what a second Season Pass should include.
So what might Gearbox decide is worth adding in season 2? It's not hard to guess that it'll whip up some more character driven adventures and action-packed sideplots. However, that's not the only type of DLC that Borderlands favors. The series has a rich history of adding content to the games, and arguably the most memorable DLCs are those that add additional Vault Hunters to play as. Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel both did, so why not Borderlands 3?
It hasn't happened so far, but that doesn't mean it never will. Another Season Pass could easily include one or two new classes, and it really ought to. Gearbox has expressed some fears that DLC characters won't do well statistically among players and avoided making them because of that, but it should set those fears aside. Adding a couple more Vault Hunters would go a long way in making Borderlands 3 an even bigger success than it already is.
Vault Hunter Concerns
Most Borderlands veterans probably took it for granted at first that the new game would get more classes eventually. Ironically, Gearbox stated early on that there was no intention to develop DLC Vault Hunters. It didn't take that stance without explaining the thought process behind it. According to Gearbox's developers, it had data that indicated an imbalance between the amount of demand for DLC classes and the amount of engagement with those kinds of expansions. Fearing losses on the investment, Gearbox decided early on to focus on other kinds of expansions for Borderlands 3.
As a business decision, it makes sense. Gearbox might be a creative studio, but it's a business too. If there's evidence that it would lose money by developing this kind of expansion, then the reasonable response is to step away from it and focus on creating fulfilling content that will also sell well. As far as players know, Gearbox is still running with this logic -- and that might be its problem. Maybe that data isn't as accurate to Borderlands 3 as it thinks it is. Not only that, but if the broad net that Randy Pitchford cast when asking fans about DLC is anything to go by, Gearbox might be having second thoughts about that hardline stance.
The Benefits of Vault Hunter DLCs
The obvious intention of Gearbox CEO Pitchford's tweet was to do some impromptu polling on Borderlands DLC. He made it sound like any thoughts the company is having at this point is unformed, so maybe it's wondering how well additional characters would do. A lot has changed since the developer made that initial statement, after all. Borderlands 3 has broken franchise sales records, it's rolled out a series of well-received DLCs, and Gearbox has had a year to see players hope and pray for new Vault Hunters. All those things considered, bonus Vault Hunters might sell better than ever, and Gearbox might know that.
The point of every DLC is to add more value to the game and encourage fans to keep playing. The obvious route is to add side missions and storylines, like plenty of Borderlands expansions do. However, Vault Hunter DLCs add replay value to the game in a totally unique way: they encourage players to restart the game and play through all of the story and the missions from the very beginning. Every character comes with new strategies and playstyles that will result in players coming out of the game with equally new stories and memories; it's basically a new lens to look at a familiar game with.
To that effect, additional classes make the base game as well as every other DLC more valuable. It encourages players to engage with that content additional times and remain interested in future DLCs. Additionally, there's the chance that there's Borderlands fans uninterested in DLC until now that would come back and play the game again if new characters speak to them. Additional classes are a great way to freshen up the game, even when it's only a year old.
Fingers Crossed
Gearbox knows that DLC characters aren't worth any less than characters from the base game, and that they can remain a huge draw long after they came out. Aurelia from The Pre-Sequel played a part in Borderlands 3, and Handsome Jack's body double Timothy Lawrence, the mechromancer Gaige, and the psycho Krieg have all come back into the limelight to play parts in Borderlands 3 DLCs. Gearbox wasn't exactly short on beloved characters from the base game to pay attention to, but instead it went out of its way to acknowledge these characters that were added into the game after release and assure players that they still have parts to play in Pandora's affairs. A hypothetical Borderlands 4 could really benefit from more cherished DLC characters returning that way.
With all this in mind, the question remains: what's it going to take? The developer hasn't come forward saying its reversing the decision, and frankly, it might be better it didn't. After the demand for more Vault Hunters was reignited by Pitchford, surprising fans with new characters would surely result in a tremendous surge of publicity, but Gearbox has done pretty well keeping players in the dark about future plans so far. Again, Pitchford's tweet was exceptionally vague. All those qualifiers mean that players shouldn't totally count on more expansions happening at all. Assuming Gearbox does go after another Season Pass, however, a new Vault Hunter or two would be a huge benefit to players and developers alike. Borderlands 3 is worth celebrating with new Vault Hunters that'll get adventures going again.
Borderlands 3 is available for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Stadia.