Gearbox has revealed Borderlands 4’s first of two new Vault Hunters coming to the game as part of the paid Story Pack DLCs.
C4SH, due out during the first quarter of 2026, is a playable character whose luck-based powers can make him either the best or worst character in the game, Gearbox development chief Randy Pitchford said during a panel at Tokyo Game Show 2025.
Here’s the official blurb, from Gearbox:
A former casino dealer bot, C4SH is now a drifter who chases the probability-breaking highs of cursed eldritch artifacts. As luck would have it, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned is full of cosmic horrors that harbor uncanny curios, some of which can surely bend the odds in C4SH's favor.
C4SH has three unique Action Skills to choose from, as you’d expect, and three skill trees that each have three branches full of passives and other customization options. C4SH works differently to the other Vault Hunters, however, by having unpredictable Action Skills. Gearbox said they all involve an element of chance as part of a risk-reward playstyle that “can lead to good fortunes like buffing himself and allies, dealing devastating damage, sapping the strength from foes, and more.”
During the panel, Pitchford revealed a work-in-progress look at C4SH’s card Action Skill, which has big Gambit vibes. Pitchford, a professional magician himself, said C4SH was “very dear to me, very personal to me.”
“Because of chance, with luck he can be the most powerful Vault Hunter in the game. But of course, with bad luck it’s the opposite. The gameplay with cash is definitely high risk, high reward. I think it’s a lot of fun. It makes my heart pound.
“C4SH is important to me because I think he and I have a lot in common. Some of you might not know this, but I have played poker professionally, as a gambler. I have appeared on a live reality television show in America about playing Texas Hold'em Poker. And I’ve felt what it’s like to take risks and to have that work out and have extreme success from chance, but also to miss out and lose my money.”
He continued: “Another thing some of you may know about me is that in addition to being a game developer, I’m a professional magician. And I’ve mastered sleight of hand with playing cards, and we used my demonstration to help animate the character in the game.”
Pitchford proceeded to show behind-the-scenes footage of the developer in his office at the Texas studio palming, flicking, and throwing playing cards from a first-person perspective, footage he said the animators used to help animate C4SH. Pitchford then showed a work-in-progress look at C4SH’s card action skill alongside first-person footage of himself performing the card actions.
You’ll get C4SH as soon as he’s available by owning the Borderlands 4 Super Deluxe Edition, the Vault Hunter Pack (included in Super Deluxe Edition), or Story Pack 1: Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned (included in Vault Hunter Pack).
Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, meanwhile, adds multiple main and side missions set in a new zone of Kairos, new gear to earn, and new cosmetics as well as C4SH.
Borderlands 4 launched this month with four playable characters: Vex; Rafa; Amon, and Harlowe. Here’s the post-launch roadmap heading into the first quarter of 2026 and beyond.
Gearbox is still working to improve Borderlands 4 following complaints about performance, and has delayed the Nintendo Switch 2 version. A patch released last week will be followed by a new balance patch early this week.
If you are delving into Borderlands 4, don't go without an updated hourly SHiFT codes list. We've also got a huge interactive map ready to go and a badass Borderlands 4 planner tool courtesy of our buds at Maxroll. Plus check out our expert players' choices for which character to choose (no one agreed).
Image credit: Tokyo Game Show / YouTube.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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