Borderlands 4 Should Double Down on One of BL3’s Best Tricks (2024)

Borderlands has been a staple of the looter shooter genre since its inception in 2009. Gearbox Studios helped usher in the popularity of the genre, and numerous games since have taken inspiration from the franchise. As Borderlands 4 is now officially in the works, fans are already looking forward to what the next installment of Borderlands will bring to the latest generation. The previous entry, Borderlands 3, received a number of post-launch additions and expansions that, although never explicitly called "live-service," functioned essentially the same.

Borderlands 3's post-launch support and updates closely resembled that of the usual content of many live-service titles like Destiny 2, Helldivers 2, and Apex Legends, but by not labeling it explicitly as such, was able to avoid the increasingly negative connotations that were becoming attached to the genre/term. Borderlands 3 smartly sidestepped the stigma of being officially branded a "live-service" yet still retained almost all the benefits of taking a similar approach for ongoing support, creating a win-win scenario for fans and the studio, which is something that should be the case again for Borderlands 4.

Gearbox Not Describing Borderlands' Post-Launch Support as a Live-Service is a Brilliant Strategy it Should Keep for BL4

Borderlands 3's Post-Launch Support and Content

As Borderlands went on and gained popularity, Gearbox began providing increasingly extensive and robust support, whether that came in the form of major story-based DLCs or items like additional challenges and new raids and bosses that were spread out over the course of a given title's life. Borderlands 3's post-launch content introduced elements like iterations on Mayhem Mode, more cosmetics, weapons, and seasonal/special events (many of which were free) as well as four bigger paid DLCs that were bundled as a Season Pass.

Notably, in an interesting case leading up to its launch, the studio released the Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC, which was also initially free for those who already owned Borderlands 2, and narratively bridged the gap between it and BL3. This garnered goodwill and built up excitement ahead of the third title. Gearbox could thus use this template again to similarly build momentum going into the fourth entry and provide the same level and quality of content following release.

Borderlands 4 Should Continue BL3's 'Non-Live-Service' Approach

The risks and pitfalls that come with managing the sustainability of live-service titles have been pointed out for quite some time, and there are cautionary tales of games sometimes outright failing to keep up with their own promises or marred by the mere fact of falling under the banner, as some players who are off-put by what it has come to imply and entail steered clear. Borderlands 3, though, was consistently updated and introduced engaging minor additions and tweaks interspersed with bigger story-focused DLCs to give fans multiple reasons to remain invested and keep playing well after the initial launch period.

Gearbox cleverly integrated these and similar features into Borderlands 3, which practically equated to live-service support, all while never having to invoke the moniker itself. This strategy has generally worked quite well for the series in terms of its post-launch support, pleasing gamers and not attempting to upset the great balance and extensions that the numerous, smaller updates and larger Season Pass content brought to the franchise. It seems a natural move then to stick to this philosophy for BL4, allowing both Gearbox and Borderlands fans to reap the rewards of a full-blown live-service approach while avoiding that specific terminology, and setting a positive example in the industry.

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

Number of Players

1-4

Local Co-Op Support

1-4 Players

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