Key Takeaways
- Gearbox’s CEO addressed the lack of major campaign DLC for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, citing a focus more on Borderlands 4 at the time.
- The post-launch support for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands was lackluster, leaving fans disappointed.
- Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2 should prioritize substantial campaign DLC to ensure quality and meet expectations.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Gearbox Software’s 2022 standalone spin-off from its tentpole Borderlands series, was by most measures a success upon its initial release. With its origins in the highly popular Assault on Dragon Keep DLC for Borderlands 2, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is framed as a giant game of “Bunkers and Badasses,” the Borderlands in-universe equivalent of Dungeons and Dragons. The DLC and its full-length followup took the established elements of the sci-fi looter-shooter and leaned into their meta-twists on them, dropping players into a classic fantasy-inspired world wrapped up in an emotional narrative that connected to the events of the main games.
As enjoyable an adventure and the tweaks to Borderlands‘ mechanics that Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands made, however, it lost a bit of momentum specifically in its post-launch content support, which dropped the ball in some regards. This was mainly due to its endgame updates being perceived as lacking in quality and significance, especially compared to some of Borderlands‘ other standout DLCs and the precedent they set, with many fans expecting TTW to follow suit and understandably disappointed when they came out feeling underwhelming. In a tweet from earlier this August, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford addressed this, stating that, “I wish we could’ve managed some big campaign DLC, but there was no way to do that and put the focus on Borderlands 4 that we needed to.” With that in mind, a sequel should seek to ensure it delivers on this the second time around.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2 Should Prioritize Providing Proper Campaign DLC
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ Post-Launch Support Left Much to be Desired
While the base game was generally hailed as an engaging experience, when it came to providing robust post-launch content, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands‘ DLCs ended up rather lackluster. Being sold under the banner of a traditional Season Pass didn’t help either, as for the price, they were found to be wanting in comparison to prior expectations set. Consisting of four smaller chunks, they were more a series of uninspiring arena challenges that, by and large, didn’t really impress in the way many players were expecting. Although Pitchford’s explanation is reasonable and makes sense in retrospect given the necessities of business and development decisions, given how the DLCs turned out and the fact that Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands wasn’t able to get the attention and resources required to deliver a full campaign expansion still likely leaves a sour taste in many fans’ mouths.
Why Gearbox Needs to Make Sure Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2 Receives Substantial Campaign DLC
Although the studio is now probably focused mainly on Borderlands 4, there is still demand for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2, and a sequel is all but guaranteed. Gearbox has a good track record of producing well-received endgame updates and memorable DLCs for Borderlands that often build on the base games in interesting and satisfying ways. The idea of a tabletop RPG within Borderlands‘ world is a clever one, and by nature lends itself to many great possibilities ripe with potential for additional content, especially in a sequel, now that the Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands brand has been firmly established.
Based on Pitchford’s statement, it seems the developer has learned from the way it handled the first title, and presumably plans to devote enough time and care to Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2 and its followup DLC to make up for the original’s shortcomings. This is a good sign, as it probably can’t afford to fumble the opportunity again to keep up with the standards set by most of its other previous expansions. Gearbox dedicating itself to producing proper story DLC for TTW2 would allow it to regain fans’ trust and go towards redeeming the first’s lower quality, while providing good value and reasons for fans to be excited about the second entry and its future plans.
