SAN FRANCISCO, California (Mar 2026) — A new Vault Hunter, a frozen wasteland full of cosmic horror, and a familiar face from the series make their return in less than two weeks. Borderlands 4’s first major story expansion drops on March 26, and it looks like a meaty one.
2K and Gearbox Software announced that Story Pack 1: Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned is launching on March 26, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
What the expansion is about
The story takes players to the Whispering Glacier, a frozen region littered with wrecked ships and dark secrets. A cosmic entity is threatening the planet Kairos, and players must team up with Ellie — Moxxi’s daughter and series fan favorite — to destroy an alien monolith and breach the Vault of the Damned.
Returning characters include Mancubus Bloodtooth, Pickle, and Crazy Earl. Gearbox notes the story is self-contained, so players who are new to the series or skipped parts of the lore can jump right in without feeling lost.
The expansion adds new story missions, side missions, activities, collectibles, and a new World Boss mechanic that sends players into a nightmarish alternate dimension when they interact with certain eldritch trees scattered across the map.
To access the Whispering Glacier, players need to own Story Pack 1 and must first complete the “A Lot to Process” mission in the Fadefields. The content is recommended for level 13 and above, but players can also create a new character that starts directly at level 13 for the expansion.
Meet C4SH, the new Vault Hunter
The expansion introduces C4SH the Rogue, a CasinoBot who won a magical card deck in a high-stakes game. That deck now lets him channel eldritch power in combat — and for a robot who has spent his existence calculating odds, unpredictability is a completely new and intoxicating experience.
His playstyle leans into high-risk, high-reward mechanics. One of his Action Skills, Sleight of Hand, lets him draw randomized cards and throw them as powerful spells. Like other Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4, C4SH has three Action Skills and three branching skill trees to build around. A full gameplay reveal and cinematic character short are coming next week ahead of launch.
Loot, bosses, and cosmetics
Story Pack 1 comes with two major boss fights and 16 minibosses. Enemies include the DAHL Legion, Kraggons, and Scavs. The loot pool adds three new Pearlescent weapons and 11 new pieces of Legendary gear, including grenades, heavy weapons, shields, and class mods.
On the cosmetics side, there are 28 new items in total, covering Vault Hunter heads and skins for all characters and C4SH-specific options, weapon skins, vehicle skins, and ECHO-4 drone skins.
Alongside the DLC launch, a free update will introduce shared progression across characters on the same account, covering map progress, SDU tokens, Hover Drives, cosmetic rewards, and activity progression.
More content on the way
Gearbox has a full 2026 roadmap in place. A raid boss is coming in April and a Takedown event in May. Bounty Packs 3, 4, and 5 are spread across Q2 and Q3, each with new cosmetics, gear, and narrative missions. Story Pack 2 is also confirmed for Q3 2026, bringing another new Vault Hunter, a brand new zone, and more gear.
Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned is included with the Super Deluxe Edition and the Vault Hunter Pack, and is also available as a separate purchase. More details at borderlands.com.
