Borderlands 4 Collector’s Edition Without the Game Has Fans Outraged at a Hefty Price

After Gearbox CEO made controversial statements that “true fans” of Borderlands should be willing to pay for content, the company faced a wave of criticism over the Echo-4 Bundle, a $150 collector’s edition of Borderlands 4 that does not include the game itself. The bundle only included physical items: an 8-inch drone figurine, a fabric map of the world, a pendant with a vault symbol, four lithographs with characters, and codes for five golden keys in the game.

To get the full gaming experience, fans of the franchise will have to additionally purchase Borderlands 4, which in total can amount to about $270 — almost half the cost of the PlayStation 5. This move has caused a new wave of discontent among players, especially against the backdrop of already announced expanded editions of the shooter priced at up to $120. Gearbox has previously retreated from plans to set the base price of the game at $80 after a sharp backlash from the community, but it appears that alternative monetization methods remain a priority for the publisher.