BORDERLANDS 4 Shares Plans For Post-Launch Game Content at PAX West

Borderlands 4 will release for most platforms on September 12. And no doubt players will race to explore the new world of Kairos and all its deadly corners. However, the launch of the game marks only the beginning of the Borderlands fun heading our way. At PAX West, the game’s developers shared more about what fans can expect in the endgame and post-launch phases of Borderlands 4.

Borderlands 4 Endgame Features

Among other things, players can look forward to the following endgame excitements:

• A post-game difficulty option titled Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. This endgame adventure offers fans five levels to unlock that increase incrementally in difficulty. A release shares: “To access Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, simply finish the campaign with your first character. As the name implies, enemies will be much, much tougher and deadlier in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode—but the loot they drop will be appropriately powerful as a reward for your efforts… When Borderlands 4 launches, Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode will have five difficulty levels, which are unlocked incrementally by completing challenges spread across Kairos and will put your skills and Vault Hunters’ builds to the test. Once you’ve completed enough challenges, you’ll face a climactic trial: a Wildcard Mission, which tasks you with replaying a mission filled with buffed enemies who have a new set of lethal traits.”
• Weekly Incentives:
  • In between bigger content drops, Borderland 4 will be offering weekly challenges and incentives to return to the game. For a new fight each week, “you should test your might against the Weekly Big Encore Boss. Everyone will get the chance to take on the same Big Encore Boss each week, which is a tougher variant with an even more rewarding loot pool. You can face off against this souped-up boss using Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine.”
  • Additionally”, all players will get the same Weekly Wildcard Mission marked on their map, ensuring that everyone takes on the same set of additional enemy traits so the community can collectively figure out the optimal ways to overcome this challenge. Best of all, Weekly Wildcard Missions will have a guaranteed Legendary drop that you can repeatedly earn to get your ideal roll.”
  • Finally, “Each week, Maurice’s Black Market Machine will spawn in a new location somewhere on Kairos; if you manage to find it, you’ll be able to purchase highly coveted Legendary loot for in-game cash. Although its location will be the same for all players each week, the inventory on offer in Maurice’s Black Market Machine is unique to each player. It’s worth regularly coordinating with friends and joining their game if their version of Maurice’s Black Market Machine has the perfect Legendary you’ve been looking for, and vice versa!”
• Exclusive endgame Firmware options. Borderlands 4‘s Firmware system will bring gear sets to the Borderlands series for the first time ever and create even more decision-making quanderies as players create their perfect builds. A release notes, “Firmware isn’t exclusive to Borderlands 4‘s endgame, as you’ll start encountering loot drops with Firmware as early as level 25. By the time you’ve reached the endgame, you’ll be well acclimated to the ways Firmware can strengthen your build—and you’ll be ready to chase after new Firmware sets that will only drop in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode.”

Borderlands 4 Post-Launch Roadmap: Free Content and Paid DLCs

When it comes to totally new content and paid DLCs, there’s a ton of post-launch releases to look forward to.

• Story Packs. Two story packs are coming to Borderlands 4 in 2026, with the first arriving in Q1. Each Story Pack will contain the following:
  • 2 Vault Hunter Heads usable by all Vault Hunters
  • 2 Vault Hunter Heads for the new Vault Hunter
  • 4 Vault Hunter Skins usable by all Vault Hunters
  • 4 Weapon Skins
  • 2 Vehicle Paintjobs
  • 3 ECHO-4 Drone Skin & Attachments
  • 1 ECHO-4 Frame
• The first story pack will be “a bloody, cosmic-horror-inspired tale entitled Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned. As you might’ve guessed, it stars the one-and-only Ellie, Pandoran mechanic extraordinaire and daughter of Moxxi.”
• The second story pack is not yet announced.
• The Bounty Pack. Borderlands 4 reveals that “Bounty Packs will include new bite-sized-yet-flavorful narrative content, along with new gear to earn and cosmetics to collect—plus a Vault Card that lets you unlock additional loot through gameplay. Four Bounty Packs are included in the Bounty Pack Bundle that comes with the Deluxe Edition and Super Deluxe Edition of Borderlands 4.” Additionally, “Each Bounty Pack features new Main Missions, revealing more about the various NPCs of Kairos, as well as a new Boss to take down; our first Bounty Pack focuses on Rush, the affable leader of the Outbounders faction stationed in the Fadefields. You can also expect loot in the form of a new Legendary Gear drop, a Vault Hunter Skin usable by all Vault Hunters, an ECHO-4 Drone Skin, and a new Digirunner Vehicle. You’ll also get a Vault Card, with its unique set of 24 cosmetic items and four pieces of re-rollable gear (separate from the Legendary Gear included in the Bounty Pack) that you’ll earn through gameplay. All non-cosmetic Vault Card gear can be earned repeatedly until you roll one with stats that perfectly suit your build.”

As for free content, expect newer, harder-to-beat bosses, called Invincible Bosses, to drop a few months after launch. Additionally, seasonal Mini-Events will take place in the game, kicking off with Horrors of Kairos, a spooky event for Halloween in October. There will also be weekly challenges, Pearlescent gear drops, and free updates to Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, which add additional levels of difficulty that players can unlock via gameplay.

The official synopsis for Borderlands 4 shares:

Borderlands 4 is a mayhem-fueled looter shooter, jam-packed with billions of weapons, outrageous enemies, and intense co-op action.

Explore a dangerous hidden planet Kairos as one of four new bada-- Vault Hunters. Break free from the oppressive Timekeeper, a ruthless dictator who dominates the masses from on high. Now, a world-altering catastrophe threatens his perfect Order, unleashing mayhem across the planet. Ignite a resistance and blast your way through mechanical monstrosities, bloodthirsty bandits, and vicious beasts, with new traversal mechanics like: double jumping, gliding, dodging, fixed-point grappling, and more.

Fight solo or in co-op with up to three other players in this immense sci-fi adventure, packed with free-form combat and exploration, pulse-pounding boss fights, infinitely varied loot drops, and an eclectic cast of unforgettable characters new and old.

Borderlands 4 is now available for pre-order on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2, and pre-purchase on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.