Gearbox has not yet confirmed anything about a possible Borderlands 4, but a sample of some recent franchise titles might give us a clue.

Gearbox has given very little information regarding the development of the next mainline entry in the Borderlands franchise. Rumours have been swirling about Borderlands 4 that hint at a plan for the series. Speculation about the release date, plot and characters has been circulating for some time. However, unofficial information should always be treated with caution.

Fans speculated last year that there would be some news on the development of Borderlands 4, but there was only radio silence from Gearbox and 2K, leaving gamers disappointed.

However, fans were not simply let down. Because the release of the spin-off title Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has given potential clues about the development of Borderlands 4.

With the release of the Borderlands 3 DLC and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, there’s one thing gamers can be sure of about Borderlands 4. Some fans were disappointed when Gearbox announced that there would be no playable character DLC for Borderlands 3 in 2019. After all, adding new characters has long been a staple of the Borderlands post-launch experience.

However, Gearbox again stuck to its guns in 2022. It started Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands with no core playable characters. It also had no plans to expand the cast via DLC. This consistency over the past few years indicates that Gearbox may do the same for Borderlands 4.

Gearbox’s recent development patterns suggest that there will be no playable characters in Borderlands 4 DLCs

For Borderlands 3, Gearbox focused on the four playable base Vault Hunters. Instead of throwing resources at additional characters. The developer cited data to support the decision, which showed that players rarely spent significant time with the DLC characters before returning to their favourites from the base game. Gearbox wanted to optimize development for the base Vault Hunters that players have come to know and love. To that end, it has embellished the characters with new skill trees to further enhance their mechanics. In Borderlands 3’s designer’s cut update, the main characters – FL4K, Amara, Moze and Zane – have been given new skill trees with new action skills and abilities.

In a sense, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands follows the same philosophy, as there are no character options at launch: it replaces them with a character builder section that allows players the freedom to customize their characters and choose from six character classes.

Although the Blightcaller class debuted with the Shattering Spectreglass DLC, there were no core playable characters, which was an even bigger departure from the Borderlands tradition. However, it’s important to note that Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is only a spin-off, and its mechanics won’t necessarily have any impact on the main series.

Source: ComicBook.com