Gearbox Software has officially launched a new communication initiative titled "This Week on Kairos," aimed at providing regular Friday updates for Borderlands 4. The inaugural post delivers immediate value to the player base, outlining a shift in DLC distribution, confirming long-awaited technical features, and detailing quality-of-life improvements that are live right now.
Bounty Pack 1 is Now Free for Everyone
In a surprising move regarding the game's post-launch monetization, Gearbox announced that Bounty Pack 1, titled "How Rush Saved Mercenary Day," is now free for all players. Usually, content shifts like this leave Deluxe Edition owners feeling shortchanged, but the studio is getting ahead of the backlash.
Players who purchased the Deluxe or Super Deluxe editions—which originally included Bounty Pack 1—will receive a newly announced Bounty Pack 5 as compensation. This fifth content drop is currently scheduled for release in 2026. While waiting a year for the compensation content isn't ideal, it does expand the total content volume for premium owners rather than simply devaluing their initial purchase.
Radar Upgrades and Smarter Loot
For active Vault Hunters, the most impactful changes in this update are the immediate quality-of-life tweaks. The patch introduces a Legendary Loot Indicator on the minimap. In previous titles, it was painfully easy to miss an orange beam of light amidst the chaos of particle effects and corpses. Now, a distinct icon on the radar ensures you won't leave a god-roll weapon behind just because it fell behind a crate.
Additionally, the update promises "smarter loot drops." While the developer didn't release the exact math behind the weighting, the goal is to reduce the frequency of useless junk items at higher levels, making the endgame farm feel more respectful of the player's time.
When is Cross-Save coming to Borderlands 4?
The "This Week on Kairos" update confirmed that Cross-Save support is officially in development. While there is no concrete release date yet, acknowledging it as an active roadmap item is a major step forward for players who play across PC and console. Alongside Cross-Save, Gearbox confirmed two other major features in the pipeline:
- Photo Mode: A staple for modern shooters, allowing players to capture their customized Vault Hunters in action.
- Difficulty Scaling: New options to fine-tune the challenge, likely addressing community feedback regarding the game's scaling in 4-player co-op sessions.
This new weekly format suggests Gearbox is trying to tighten the feedback loop between the developers and the community. If they keep delivering concrete roadmap updates rather than fluff, "This Week on Kairos" could be a Friday staple for the community.