For starters, there’s a whole new level of rare gear just waiting for you to find it. Pearlescent Gear comes with the benefit of having two elemental damage types on it, with enemy resistances and weaknesses causing your gear to automatically default to what will cause the most damage. Although you’re going to have to do a bit of farming to get them to drop, they’re well worth the effort when playing on harder difficulties.

As for the new missions, you’re going to be assisting Defiant Calder quell the influence of a malevolent presence in the mountains that the Augers have been appeasing with human sacrifices. Calder has decided that enough is enough and is going to join the Vault Hunters in eliminating it. Aside from new Ordonite-encrusted enemies and bosses, there’s a new Vault Card with a lot of cosmetic unlockables and some excellent rewards for finishing the main story missions.

Of course, there’s plenty more to come, including the first paid expansion, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned. It’s out next month and adds a new playable Vault Hunter, C4SH.

Bounty Pack 2’s release later this month will be accompanied by a major update for Borderlands 4 that brings with it a new tier of loot rarity—Pearlescent. This new tier has been described as being “superior to even Legendary gear”, and will be available to all players regardless of which DLC they may or may not own. Bounty Pack 2 players will also get their own exclusive Pearlescent-tier gear.

Story Pack 1 will introduce an entirely new region to the game, complete with new story missions and the first post-launch Vault Hunter addition—C4SH. The character was teased back in September, giving us hints about his various abilities. C4SH is themed as a gunslinger, along with slight nods towards potential necromantic abilities. The tease was accompanied with a look at C4SH’s kit, which includes a pair of revolvers and some strange-looking artefacts.

Legend of the Stone Demon is the second of five planned post-launch Bounty Pack DLCs. It can be picked up as part of the Bounty Pack Bundle, or as part of the Deluxe and Super Deluxe Editions of Borderlands 4. Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, on the other hand, is the first of two planned Story Pack DLCs, and can be picked up individually, as part of the Vault Hunter Pack, or as part of the game’s Super Deluxe Edition.

Initially, Gearbox had also planned to bring Borderlands 4 to the Nintendo Switch 2. However, poor performance of the title on PC led to the studio pushing back the Switch 2 launch in favor of ironing out its technical issues on other platforms. While things had largely been quiet since then, earlier this week, Take-Two Interactive spokesperson Alan Lewis had confirmed that development on the port had been paused.

“Our focus continues to be delivering quality post-launch content for players on the ongoing improvements to optimize the game,” said Lewis. “We’re continuing to collaborate closely with our friends at Nintendo. We have ‘PGA Tour 2K25’ coming out and ‘WWE 2K26’ [for Switch 2], and we’re incredibly excited about bringing more of our titles to that platform in the future”

A follow-up report has indicated that development on the Switch 2 port had been “paused for a couple of months.” According to notable leaker NateTheHate, the port has “proven to be a challenge and has likely crossed over into the realm of investment/time needed to port it well being too high in comparison to sales potential.”

In the meantime, Borderlands 4 is still available on other modern platforms, and Gearbox has recently unveiled an updated roadmap for its post-launch content plans. Also check out our review for more details on the co-op looter shooter.

The former is notable because it marks the arrival of Pearlescent rarity gear. Even if you don’t own the DLC, you can still earn Pearlescent items. Some loot is exclusive for those who pay up, naturally, but if you prefer to check out the first Story Pack, it brings the first new playable Vault Hunter – C4SH. There’s also a new story as players explore a new region with “multiple main missions and side missions, new gear to earn, and a bunch of new cosmetics.”

In Q2 2026, the looter shooter’s second Invincible boss will debut alongside the game’s first Takedown, described as an “extremely challenging gauntlet where players will have to battle their way through a new area, taking on hordes of enemies and new boss encounters.” Succeed and say hello to the very best loot.

Gearbox is also working on “additional endgame activities” to bring a “new layer of challenge and mastery to existing content.” If that wasn’t enough, a level cap increase, cross-platform saves, shared progression – where collectibles, Fast Travel points, Vault Fragments, and more will be unlocked on all future characters – and other limited-time free events.

Borderlands 4 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, but the Nintendo Switch 2 version has yet to receive a release date. A Portuguese retailer recently listed it for February 27th, so perhaps an announcement at next week’s rumored Nintendo Direct? Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.