As someone who is slowly getting won over by the many reveals of exciting info about Borderlands 4 from Gearbox, something has been on my mind recently. Seeing as the game has a release date that is just a little under 4 months away, there is still more to learn about it. Whether that is more details about the Vault Hunters, or more about the new location Kairos. One thing has been left elusive as the release inches closer. That being the cost of the game itself. At PAX East this year, Randy Pitchford during their panel at the Main Theater answered it. The answer was insightful but still concerns me.
How Much Will Borderlands 4 Cost?
I will play devils advocate on a few points Randy mentioned when the question was asked. Randy did talk about the difference in budget for Borderlands 4. Due to the rising costs of everything in the world, development costs have also increased. Not only that, but they are trying to be wary of ongoing tariffs affecting physical copies of games. The latter situation affects the upcoming Mario Kart World’s physical copy being $90 USD. Despite the digital version being cheaper at $80 USD.
But even Randy and his team do not know the official price of the game itself. He did say that he wants “everybody who buys a Gearbox game to feel certain that they got the better end of the bargain, no matter the price.” While also pointing out that there are two possibilities. Either the team that decides the price for them matches what Nintendo and Xbox have sadly set with recent price hikes, or they “stay back”. Below will be the panel and exact moment when they talk about the price of Borderlands 4.
So with all of this being said, the game may launch at a staunch $80 USD later in the year. This is going to be a troubling outcome for a few reasons. For one, like previous titles, may launch with day 1 DLC packs. Borderlands 3 had a few such as Deluxe edition packs with more DLC via its season pass. With this in mind, Borderlands 4 may launch with a Deluxe edition, and a season pass for future DLC, raising its price way higher. Whether or not Gearbox sets the price at $80 USD, they can’t keep the price shrouded in mystery. The game will be going up for preorder “soon”, and I can only hope Gearbox looks like the good guys that day.
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