Here's the story:

As we tie a bow on this decade, everyone's taking the stroll down memory lane, ourselves included. And with the recent development of the battle pass model, free downloadable content (DLC) that's available to everyone has finally become a thing. That isn't to say that the days of paid DLC are behind us. Far from it. Thanks to the groundwork Gearbox and 2K Games laid with their DLC model for Borderlands, paid story DLC has remained a mainstay of the industry.

The Borderlands series has made a name for itself in countless ways. From its unique art style to its crazy balls-to-the-wall loot system, it's solidified itself as an icon of gaming culture. Most notably with its practically impeccable series of story-based DLC campaigns.

Full of wacky ideas, new missions, level cap increases, and of course loot galore, the Borderlands series' DLC packs changed the game forever by providing can't miss experiences for fans of the series, and further prolonging the playability of their game without including a half-baked multiplayer experience.

Every story-based content pack that you've played since 2012 is in part thanks to the awesome ideas that the Borderlands series introduced. So it's time to honor the current undisputed king of the tried and true DLC model; the game series that dared to do it differently and blew everyone out of the water in the process. This is how Borderlands DLC changed the game forever.

MORE! MORE! MORE!

Story-based RPGs have long been known to increase level caps and provide features for hardcore fans who love grinding XP well after the main story has concluded. The idea of story DLC wasn't introduced by Borderlands; but it was certainly perfected by it.

Every Borderlands DLC release also coincided with at least a 10-level cap increase. Paired with a brand new 3-4 hour story campaign and even more side missions, Gearbox and 2K landed on a formula that just kept us hungry fans fed for months and months after we completed everything there was to do in the main games.

To top it all off, they even released a prequel pack for Borderlands 2 that coincided with the launch of Borderlands 3. This helped tie up some loose ends with the story; a whopping 7 years after Borderlands 2's original release! It just goes to show that Gearbox and 2K care about the fans of their games.

Gear Up For Handsome Jackpot with our Borderlands 3 Claptrap Performance Thumbsticks!

Beforethought Not After

To say some of the DLC campaigns in the Borderlands series have variety is an understatement. At any moment you could be trapped inside the simple but twisted AI mind of a Claptrap robot, battling your way through a Mad Max-Inspired Thunderdome gladiator arena, or even living through the simulated quest of a D&D-style medieval RPG (except with guns cuz y'know, Borderlands). Creatively, it just seemed like the developers over at Gearbox took their best ideas that couldn't fit into the main game, and fleshed them out with DLC later.

The ideas are unique and zany enough to keep people engaged. But what's even more impressive is the fact that some of these are MUST PLAY for the story content alone. Even getting to the point where they rival the original campaign.

Consider The Game Changed (By Keeping It The Same)

Now, Gearbox and 2K have released their first of four story-based DLC packs for Borderlands 3. Cleverly titled Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, it's pretty clear where they'll be going with this one. Something tells us that just like Borderlands 3's main campaign, they'll be blowing their previous efforts out of the water.

In a world where free DLC is king and cosmetic-driven battle passes are the new DLC model, Borderlands is teaching us that not everyone needs to float the mainstream to continue to provide gamers with content that brings value to the players.

So two performance thumbsticks way up for keeping old-but-great ways alive, Gearbox. FreekNation salutes you!

Which DLC pack in the Borderlands series had you laughing, crying, and looting your way to victory? Let us know in the comments! 'Til next time FreekNation!