The discourse surroundingBorderlands 4has not been exactly easy in the past few weeks. The game has gone through a bit of a rollercoaster since it was revealed, with a first look atBorderlands 4’s Vault Hunters leading to disappointment, which was made up for in a full-fledged gameplay trailer showing the characters more in depth as well as the setting and looting-shooting loop. Then, on the high of the positive reaction from all the trailers and developer interviews, Gearbox’s own Randy Pitchford took to social media to discussBorderlands 4’s price, and the fact that it could cost $80 didn’t sit well with fans. This bullet has been dodged, with the base game costing $70, but Gearbox finds itself in another controversy.
Borderlands 4is coming out sooner than expected, which also contributed to fans' hype, and it’s now slated for release on September 12 as opposed to September 23. With the game less than three months away, it was time for Gearbox to announce the price ofBorderlands 4, and the sentiment was more on the negative side overall due to the new trend in the industry making games cost upward of $70, now between $80 and $90 for some titles. The base game is set to have an MSRP of $69.99, but the issue comes from the Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions.
Borderlands 4’s Price is No Longer Controversial, But Its Biggest Edition Is
Borderlands 4’s Standard, Deluxe, and Super Deluxe editionsall come with different perks, as one might expect. The current slate is:
The problem is that the Super Deluxe Edition offers the complete package for the game, including post-launch content (though it remains to be seen if this includes all content Gearbox plans on releasing), but it costs a whopping $130. Compared to the base game, this is an extra $60, which is essentially the price of another AAA game, just for some extra content that may not even be everything there is going to be.
How Borderlands 4’s Super Deluxe Edition Compares to Borderlands 3’s Ultimate Edition
This can be even more jarring when compared to past releases. For example,Borderlands 3has three editions- the Standard Edition for $60, the Super Deluxe Edition for $80 (including cosmetic packs and the Season Pass 1 for an extra four story campaigns with new loot and stories), and the Ultimate Edition for $100 (including more cosmetic packs and the Season Pass 2 for two more DLC in the form ofBorderlands 3’s Designer’s Cut and Director’s Cut, as well as the Super Deluxe Edition).
This translates into a $30price increase forBorderlands 4’s Super Deluxe Edition when compared toBorderlands 3’s Ultimate Edition, but the content may not be truly comparable in terms of quantity. There have been several negative reactions to the price ofBL4’s Super Deluxe Edition among the community, as it has less DLC thanBorderlands 3, with the addition of two playable characters, but with a steep increase in its cost.
Why Borderlands 4 Needs to Deliver By Any Means Necessary
More importantly,Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandsdisappointed with its DLC, as Gearbox did deliver on the promise of quantity, but the quality was overall perceived as bad or not worth the cost, at the very least. As such, there is a bad precedent for DLC as the most recent example, and with one of the highest costs in the industry for a deluxe edition,Borderlands 4may be biting off more than it can chew in terms of fans' trust and goodwill. It remains to be seen what the final reception is, but $130 may be a tad too much for what Gearbox is offering.
