Highlights
- Borderlands franchise thrives on core concepts: gunplay, writing, and loot collecting.
- Cosmetics in Borderlands are always earnable in-game or in DLC packs with new content.
- Borderlands 4 should maintain the current DLC model and avoid excessive microtransactions.
Borderlands 3, and by extension the entire Borderlands franchise, is built on three core concepts: tight, engaging gunplay, fun, irreverent writing, and collecting more loot than anyone could ever possibly use. While the series has certainly evolved over time, particularly in the gameplay department, the games have always stayed close to their roots, making it a comforting, familiar experience to return to, regardless of the installment. This familiar approach has always been the core of the franchise (as well as its fantasy-tinged spinoff, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands), which is why any monetization shake-ups after Borderlands 3 would be a big mistake.
In the era of in-game shops and limited-time exclusive cosmetics, Borderlands has generally stayed close to its original cosmetics model: all earnable in-game, with a few added as extra bonuses in larger DLC packages. As early as the original game, there have always been a healthy amount of cosmetic items in the base game. What cosmetics don't come with the purchase of the game always arrived in post-launch DLC packs filled with additional story content, new enemies, new locations, and plenty of new guns. This pattern has largely followed Borderlands DLC across the years and into modern times, while some competitors have eschewed this model for a plethora of cheaply priced cosmetics on launch day and battle passes laden with rewards for grinding XP daily.
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Will Borderlands 4 Have Microtransactions?
When Borderlands 3 launched, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford stated online that the company was going to avoid nickel and diming players, shutting down rumors that the game would have excessive microtransactions. True to his word, the game featured a veritable treasure trove of cosmetics at launch, all earnable in-game. Several paid cosmetics arrived at a later date within the game’s numerous DLC packages, but players still had plenty of options to chew on for their $70 purchase of the base game.
Previously exclusive Borderlands 3 cosmetic items have been added to Crazy Earl’s shop for eridium, making them 100% earnable in-game without any real-life money changing hands.
While these DLC packages have been commonplace in the industry since the golden age of gaming, they are still, by definition, microtransactions. But what sets them apart from the skin offerings in games like Call of Duty: Warzone or Apex Legends is the value these purchases represent, something Borderlands has always delivered. When players make a purchase for Borderlands DLC, they’re not just buying a cosmetic; they’re buying hours of new gameplay, new story content, new guns for additional build options, and cosmetics.
A great example of the value-per-dollar in the DLC model is in Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, the first expansion for Borderlands 3. For just $15, players had access to a veritable cornucopia of content.
- 18 new missions (7 story missions and 11 side missions)
- 6 new locations
- 20+ new enemy types
- 32 farmable bosses/minibosses
- 16 new legendary weapons
- 4 new cosmetic heads (1 per playable Vault Hunter)
The Future of Borderlands Cosmetics
When Borderlands 4 rolls around, Gearbox needs to stick to its guns on this, no pun intended. Not only is it a better general value in terms of content ($15 is the price of a single skin in some titles), but it sets Borderlands apart from the competition. Sometimes gamers don’t want an intricate in-game shop with limited-time cosmetics sold with FOMO. A return to the more straightforward days of post-launch content is a welcome change of pace in today’s landscape.
Ignore the battle passes and the cosmetics that need real-world cash, and let us just farm for legendary loot.
There’s no way of knowing for sure what kind of cosmetics/DLC options will be available in Borderlands 4, but Gearbox should absolutely stay the course on how it delivers them to players. In a world of battle passes and flashy cosmetics sold exclusively for real-world cash, sometimes it's refreshing to be able to boot up the game and just farm Tom and Xam for easy legendary loot. It’s a time-tested model, it fits with the never-ending loot search the series is known for, and most importantly, the players love it.
Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 is the fourth installment in the Borderlands series. In this looter shooter, players take missions from NPCs and seek out Vaults, similar to the rest of the series.
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Platform(s)
- PC , Stadia , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PS4 , PS5 , Switch
- Released
- September 13, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K Games
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter , Action , RPG
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer , Online Co-Op , Local Co-Op
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- How Long To Beat
- 25 Hours
- Metascore
- 91
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- PC, PS4,PS5, Xbox One &Xbox Series X|S
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-4 Players
