Borderlands 2 making more non-season pass DLC

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says Borderlands 2 will have "even more" DLC besides the Mechromancer class and Season Pass content.

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We already knew that the Borderlands 2 Season Pass wouldn't include the Mechromancer. The extra character is a bonus for those who pre-ordered the game, but will cost $10 otherwise. Apparently Gearbox has plenty of DLC in the pipe, some of which also won't be included in the Season Pass.

"We will have other, non-season pass related DLC. The additional character (Mechromancer) is one kind of example," Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford said in a Kotaku Q&A. "The Borderlands 2 team is fired up at the moment. Customer love for the game is driving us wild - making us want to do more and more stuff. So, expect that there will be even more beyond the big Campaign DLC in the Season pass and the add'l character. We'll announce more stuff as soon as we are able to be confident in the commitment of the details we share."

He says the Season Pass content is bigger, and compares it to the General Knoxx DLC from the first game. He says the team is very far along in developing the first and second packs, while the third is in earlier stages and the fourth is in the pre-concept stages. It seems like the Season Pass still assures you get all of the substantial content, but you may have to shell out a little more if you want every possible piece of the Borderlands pie.

We recently learned that some of the DLC is being developed by The Workshop, the studio behind Sorcery. Meanwhile, the Mechromancer is coming from Gearbox itself, and due in mid-October.

Editor-In-Chief
From The Chatty
  • reply
    September 24, 2012 8:15 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Borderlands 2 making more non-season pass DLC.

    Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says Borderlands 2 will have "even more" DLC besides the Mechromancer class and Season Pass content.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 8:32 AM

      This is bullshit right....? I don't feel great bout this statement as someone whose purchased a "season pass". I'm even less sure what I bought now then I was before when I had no information.

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      September 24, 2012 8:32 AM

      Buy our Season pass and get all the DLC, except all the DLC that we don't think should be in it.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 8:35 AM

        lol yup. Suckers!

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 8:52 AM

        Except they clearly stated you'd be getting 4 campaigns for the price of 3, not "get all the DLC". If that still upsets you, then wait for the inevitable steam sale, if you're on PC that is.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 9:00 AM

          then they shouldn't call it a 'season pass' ..industry norm currently is to give you all the dlc from that 'season' when you buy into that crap.

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            September 24, 2012 9:02 AM

            No it's not. Microsoft and THQ already broke this trend with Forza 4 and Saint's Row as it has already been pointed out.

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              September 24, 2012 9:11 AM

              Same with Naughty Dog - I don't know if I care that you don't get all the DLC, you're still getting a discount. So it's worth it if you care about DLC. I personally wouldn't bother with this particular pass considering knoxx was the only DLC I thought was good.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 8:33 AM

      Personally, I think this blows. I already bought the Season Pass thinking "hey, one shot and I get everything" which is what we've come to expect with other titles offering the same type of package deal... I think the term "Season Pass" in the case of BL2 is now marred and am sure we'll see other developers/publishers following suit. Don't get me wrong, I want more BL2, but this smells like a bait and switch move to me.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 8:37 AM

        $60 Game + $40 Season Pass + $10 Mechromancer + Even more DLC? I've usually been the one to be all "so you don't have to buy it" but this is alittle out of hand and kind of takes advantage of people with no control.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 8:38 AM

          [deleted]

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 8:39 AM

          [deleted]

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          September 24, 2012 8:46 AM

          The game was $36 though.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 8:49 AM

            And if you wait for a few months it'll be $10....whats your point? Yes stuff can be found on sale. That's besides the point, its $60.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 8:56 AM

            And the DLC is $30 for four DLC updates.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 9:15 AM

            Just because the game may have been available for 36 at some point doesn't mean it's not a 60 dollar game. Most people payed 60 for it.

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 9:58 AM

              It was available digitally in all of NA and EU for $36 for at least a full week before release. Doesn't seem like there's any need to pay full price for non-Blizz games anymore.

              • Ebu legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
                reply
                September 24, 2012 11:55 AM

                I don't even think there's much likelyhood of me paying full price for a Blizzard game anymore.

              • reply
                September 24, 2012 11:56 AM

                That's true, but we're talking about some subset of people who pay attention to shit like that. A lot of people go out on release day and buy the game. I'm confident pre-orders don't make up the bulk of purchases.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 9:07 AM

          If the best price you can get the game for is $60, then you weren't looking.

          $36 for full game + free mechromancer if you preordered + $30 season pass which was said would only be 4 DLCs + anything new they make after that.

          If you don't like your season pass stuff, don't buy the DLC afterwards, but it was very clear what exactly the season pass did when it came out.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 9:19 AM

          [deleted]

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 12:31 PM

          ... "hand and kind of takes advantage of people with no control."

          LMAO... that is some funny stuff... cept i'm in that catergory.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 8:44 AM

        SR3's season pass had more stuff that was outside of the season, but they specifically said what was going to be in the season pass ahead of time.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 8:47 AM

        The season pass was worded as you would get 4 DLC packs for the price of 3.

        Forza 4 had a "season pass" and you got 6 DLC packs, then they started offering other paid DLC that was not included in that pack as well.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 8:51 AM

        Saints Row the Third already had a season pass that did not get you all the DLC. Not that I agree with this, but Gearbox isn't the first to do this.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 8:55 AM

        Well, it's DLC for NEXT season.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 8:36 AM

      This game is going to cost me so much money.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 8:47 AM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 8:58 AM

        They never advertised it for ALL DLC but four updates, come on, people, you just want to hate for the sake of hating.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 9:15 AM

          Eh, this is kind of bullshit. I pre-ordered the season pass assuming it would basically give me everything without having to worry about buying individual DLC.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 9:36 AM

            That was a bad assumption then on your part. Nowhere did they ever say that.

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 10:01 AM

              Well, I'll get whatever comes with the season pass, not sure if I'll bother with anything beyond that, we'll see how much more I want after June 2013.

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 11:38 AM

              It was an understandable assumption because B1 had 4 DLCs

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 9:00 AM

        Microsoft pulled it first with Forza 4, and as someone else pointed out Saints Row 3 did it as well.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 12:01 PM

        Well, then it's a good thing that isn't what happened.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 8:54 AM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 8:57 AM

        agreed. the total lack of clarity around SKUs of launch versions, preorder versions, preorder the entire game for all time version, individual DLC, grouping up of DLC.... holy shit fuck. it's 2012. get your shit together, publishers, and be CLEAR about what goes with what. the chopping up of releases is so annoying.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 9:01 AM

        The Borderlands 2 Season Pass says you get 4 DLC packs for the price of 3. And it was clear that Mechromancer was never going to be part of that deal.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 9:31 AM

          They shouldn't call it a Season Pass then and call it a DLC Pack.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 9:42 AM

            The name isn't "All-inclusive DLC Pack." You arbitrarily interpreted it incorrectly (not necessarily unreasonably, just incorrectly). You can't blame them for your misconceptions in this case. It description of the Season Pass was very clear that you'd be getting the four included DLC packs. There was no mention of any other DLC.

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 9:59 AM

              [deleted]

              • reply
                September 24, 2012 10:11 AM

                They clearly stated you'd get the four specified DLC, nothing more. There is no deception here.

                • reply
                  September 24, 2012 3:38 PM

                  See this?

                  This is why I either buy the game as is, or wait for everything to come out. I'm not picking any sides here, but I'm getting tired of this hoopla.

                  • reply
                    September 24, 2012 5:43 PM

                    That's totally fair. I can't say that I'm happy they're doing more DLC but I'm not going to go all crazy about it.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 9:12 AM

        It literally says what it contains on the product page on Steam. If people aren't reading what they get when they buy something.. I can't feel sorry for them.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 9:17 AM

          Why can't they give us the option to pay one time for something that gives us the whole game? It's going to cost more money, but at least you don't have to worry about making sure you get everything.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 10:02 AM

            Because then you get people saying I DID NOT GET MY $100 WORTH OF VIDEO GAMES.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 10:13 AM

            People already complain about the price of games, can you imagine how bad it would be at $100? This is the industry trying new methods of getting more revenue from their products without increasing the up front cost to the consumer.

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 11:46 AM

              This is the industry forcing me to wait for GOTY Steam sales for every game. GGs, Industry.

              • reply
                September 24, 2012 12:41 PM

                I don't really like it either, but game development isn't cheap or easy.

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 3:10 PM

              Welcome to Australia.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 11:15 AM

            Wait for the inevitable GOTY edition then. Who says there won't be a second season pass?

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 2:00 PM

              I preordered the game and the season pass :) Anyway, I'm enjoying it now and I'm looking forward to more content.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 9:42 AM

        Well, another problem is that "season pass" means different things for each publisher, which kind of sucks.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 10:05 AM

          [deleted]

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 10:11 AM

            It is, but it's not necessarily Gearbox's fault here. Microsoft probably broke the "season pass" term first with Forza 4's "season pass" only including the first six paid DLC packs.

            THQ also used the term "season pass" for Saint's Row 3 that didn't include all paid DLC.

            I don't really thing Gearbox is wrong for using "season pass" to describe the "season of planned DLC content packs to expand the story" like the first game got. The Mechromancer (and probably the Creature Slaughter Dome) were never hinted at being included in that, and I bet Randy is talking about more character based DLC or limited area content rather than full on story add-ons.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 10:11 AM

        While I appreciate developers trying to get a little more out of the game to offset the costs, DLC has always left me with a real foul taste in my mouth. Specifically, things that would've been ready for ship, but they decided to hold back and unlock something that's already on your drive for another 10 bucks. I've never paid for DLC, and shit like that is what keeps me away from it.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 10:31 AM

        [deleted]

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 3:28 PM

        They tested calling it the FYITA bundle, but marketing came back negative.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 9:45 AM

      Poor Randy can't win for talking.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:01 AM

      wtf is this shit? I buy season pass and now you tell me dlc outside the pass? Are you fucking serious?

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:16 AM

      I guess waiting for inevitable GOTY version with all this crap included makes even more sense now. My backlog will keep me busy until I buy Borderlands 2 in 2014.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 10:26 AM

        Same here.
        Going to wait for the "all-inclusive" GOTY edition in another year or so.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 10:54 AM

        [deleted]

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 12:36 PM

        this is good news... i will have people to keep playing the game with for a very long time.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 1:28 PM

        On a steam sale no less.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:24 AM

      and here I was ready to forgive gearbox for all past ills with the sheer amount of fun I'm having with BL2.

      somethings never change, eh gearbox~

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:26 AM

      Steve Gibson laughs at our stupid hopes and dreams from behind his desk made of useless Season passes.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:28 AM

      Maybe it'll be free for everyo... Hahahahahahahahaha... I almost made it through the entire sentence.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:31 AM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:35 AM

      gearbox duping people out of money? why I never

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:51 AM

      WTF! I bought the Season Pass so I wouldn't have to spend any more money for DLC Stuff for atleast a year. I guess greed has won out over their Fans.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 12:44 PM

        They were very clear that you would get 4 DLC packs with the season pass.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 12:52 PM

          It's interesting how many people bought the season pass without ever reading what it contained. Or they read it and immediately assumed the description was wrong. I'm not sure which.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 1:21 PM

            Well, could it be from the wording that when they said '4 dlc' that they thought that's all they were making for the game and weren't expecting more than 4 dlc?

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 3:32 PM

              Before this announcement they were already at 5 planned dlc. The mechromancer and 4 campaigns. And the mechromancer was never included in the season pass.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 3:31 PM

            I appreciat that, but using the phrase "season pass" and then not using it to cover a "season" is a bit misleading.

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 3:40 PM

              Yup I hate this term that is being used all over now... Now if they stretch the DLC releases over the next year then fine. But I bet they get all 4 of these out in 3-6 months time.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 3:39 PM

          From the posts above, it wasn't quite clear enough.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:54 AM

      I had the feeling this would be a Goty edition purchase for me.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 10:58 AM

      So much 'I wasn't actually paying attention, didn't read anything, and made assumptions, and now I'm furious for no reason!' in this thread.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 11:06 AM

      is there any downside on waiting for the DLC to come out to buy the season pass? i don't see the point of paying for it up front when there's no date or details on what are in the 4 DLC packs.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 11:21 AM

        The season pass won't be purchasable when the DLC actually hits, I assume.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 12:39 PM

        seriously... what if only 2 come out cuz they go out of business?... then your really out money. (i know very unlikely in this scenerio, but still possible)... pre-purchasing DLC is just a bad idea in general, even if it's going to save you some money. (rarely enough expenditure to justify it)

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 11:23 AM

      This is why I'm waiting on the inevitable GotY edition that will inevitably be discounted during one of Steam's inevitable sales.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 11:52 AM

      "No, Axe, Horse Armor DLC does not represent a slippery slope. It's the same thing as expansion packs. Stop complaining that this is bad for consumers, and gamers in general."
      Ye shall now reap what ye have permitted to be sown.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 11:53 AM

        * and gamING in general

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 11:56 AM

        bad for them? they're the ones buying it up and making the model viable. no sales means no horse armor-style DLC.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 12:44 PM

        [deleted]

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 1:17 PM

          Enjoy your $100 still incomplete game.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 2:00 PM

            it's not incomplete. the game you bought at release is the complete product.

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 2:14 PM

              If I don't want to play with people who buy the DLC. I guess we can play the base game, then I go play another game while they keep playing.

              • reply
                September 24, 2012 2:25 PM

                I'll stop now. No one's going to convince anyone of anything here.

                • reply
                  September 24, 2012 3:24 PM

                  No, you mean you aren't going to accept the world as it is, with DLC. It's not going to change.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 3:23 PM

            Wtf incomplete? No. The game has a TON of content already. The DLC is to support people who want to keep playing new/more content. They did very well with BL1 DLC in that respect as well (Moxxxi's was a bit on the fluff side but still).

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 3:56 PM

              Yeah Moxxie was questionable, the rest was high quality and beats most DLC shite companies put out. I didn't regret purchasing any of it.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 12:05 PM

      Seems like a good thing to wait on the holiday sales for. I'm sure the season pass will go down in price, as will the mechromancer class.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 12:56 PM

      Anyone who knows my attitude in other Borderlands/2 threads knows I'm not usually one to defend Gearbox or Pitchford. However, this appears to be in keeping with other "Season Passes" like Saints Row 3: The Season Pass includes all the story/campaign-related DLC for the year, but not all the random widget DLC (guns, classes, etc.).

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 1:14 PM

        Rockstar LA Noire Season Pass included everything they put out as DLC.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 1:35 PM

      WTF Shack

      Wait so the season pass still gets you 4 x $10 DLC packs, for $30 bucks, right? And people are upset that they plan on MORE post release content which isn't covered by that? I thought it was pretty clear the season pass was for 4 packs, and only 4 packs, and that hasn't changed.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCVHpnixj88

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 1:38 PM

        People are butthurt. The only thing I can say is that Gearbox shouldn't called it a Season Pass, but still. It's not like they mislabeled or bait-and-switched or anything. People get mad that their assumptions don't equal out to reality.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 2:04 PM

          yeah usually season pass means you get everything that comes out post realease but they clearly stated that you get 4 large DLC campaigns.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 3:17 PM

      Are there really this many idiot shackers? I dont even...

      The problem is not that the "season pass" lacks verbosity, but can easily carry the impication that "buy this and it will cover all the DLC at a discount". It fails to mention that there is other DLC in the works not covered.

      Now as this ratio of uncovered vs covered gets higher, it dilutes the semantic value of the season pass, especially because a lot of people bought the season based on the assumption that the DLC it would cover was the entire DLC roadmap. With new knowledge that there might be the same amount (or even more) non-trivial DLCs, it sort of reduces the value of the "Season Pass" considering these people have already taken a risk by paying for something that hasn't even been made yet.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 3:20 PM

        TLDR: while the Season Pass describes what it is, it doesn't describe clearly describe what it is NOT. And it seems to have been done in a deliberately misleading way that plays on an obviously foreseeable misunderstanding to quickly cash in orders.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 3:26 PM

          Isn't Randy Pitchford's job to be misleading? He always comes off as a smarmy car salesman to me.

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          September 24, 2012 5:03 PM

          http://store.steampowered.com/app/218560/

          Here it clearly says what it is. People paid for 4 DLC and that's exactly what they're going to get. There's only one interpretation of what "get access to four downloadable content packs for Borderlands 2 at one discounted price" means.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 5:09 PM

          Okay, playing your own 'let's infer meaning from the name, where there is no need to, because all terms and conditions are clearly stated".

          A season pass is just for one season. Guess what, you can't take your somewhat analogous ski resort 2012 season pass and use it in 2013. It's FUCKING LIMITED. So is this one. It's for the 1st four DLCs. Then it's 'next season'. There ya go.

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 3:28 PM

      That is bullshit because the guy at gamestop asked my if I wanted to buy the season pass for this game and I asked what it was, and he said it is all the DLC that will come out for this game for one low price of $30 instead of the normal $40.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 3:28 PM

        You trusted someone at Gamestop. Look how dumb you are.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 3:46 PM

          Technically the GStopper was right. It's $40 of the DLC for $30. Only when he said it was all of the DLC was he wrong.

          • reply
            September 24, 2012 3:49 PM

            so technically he was wrong?

            • reply
              September 24, 2012 3:55 PM

              no, because these days if you're only partly right it rounds up to completely right

    • reply
      September 24, 2012 4:22 PM

      http://store.steampowered.com/app/218560/ There it CLEARLY says what the season pass includes, if people made WRONG conclussions, its not Gearbox's fault.

      And to name another example, in green man gaming its clearly stated what it includes, and i haven't checked any other retailers, but probably they will state aswell whats in the pack.

      • reply
        September 24, 2012 5:00 PM

        You are an idiot. Its not what it says, its what it deliberately doesnt say/clarify even though it holds an obvious implication.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 5:05 PM

          No, I believe you're the idiot. Do you always buy things then get angry when they're not what you think they implied to be? Read product descriptions and understand that the product is exactly as the description says it is, and no more.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 5:05 PM

          You're making a personal attack for no reason, other than your poor grasp of basic reasoning.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 5:51 PM

          It says "Grab the Borderlands 2 Season Pass and get access to four downloadable content packs for Borderlands 2 at one discounted price:"

          Are there going to be more than four dlc packs? If so then you don't get them all from the season pass. Seems pretty easy.

        • reply
          September 24, 2012 5:53 PM

          [deleted]

          • reply
            September 25, 2012 10:47 PM

            Pens that allow time travel... oh, that would be awesome xD.

    • reply
      September 25, 2012 8:45 AM

      Wow, SO many but hurt people here. Here's a tip, you don't have to buy DLC.

      The game on its own is cosier able value.

      I think it's fair if a company wants to charge more for extra content. And the season pass tells you what you get, 4 DLCs. If they wanna sell some other extras they're entitles to. Think about it, if you buy a season pass to a sports event, do you get free beer and hot dogs? Of course not.

      • reply
        September 25, 2012 9:04 AM

        I don't know why people are assuming a season pass means access to ALL DLC. That's not applicable even the real life equivalent which according to the dictionary says: A season pass is a ticket for a series of events, number of journeys, etc., within a limited time, usually obtained at a reduced rate.

        There you have it. Nothing deceptive, underhanded or misleading. In real life a season pass will get you into a limited number of games, not ALL future games, just a certain number.

        This season pass is exactly the same. You get a limited number of content packs. There's nothing stopping a game selling multiple seasons of content. In fact Halo 4 is having multiple seasons of content.

        So, if this offends you, grow up kids.

    • reply
      September 25, 2012 4:44 PM

      Milk milk milk milk milk.

      Even if you like this game it must feel terrible to be hooked up to the suction cup.

    • reply
      September 27, 2012 10:23 PM

      Wouldn't it be great if we got a single "expansion pack" for $50?
      Paid DLC is going to kill my interest in gaming if this crap keeps up.

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