Borderlands 3 won’t be giving players any additional playable characters, just in case you were hoping.

New-gen gaming has led gamers to expect fresh DLC characters and, of course, Gearbox is probably more guilty of that than most creators. The developer has made adding story content, progression and characters habitual. However, the latest installment of Borderlands won’t be getting characters via DLC, according to creative director Paul Sage.

If you already purchased Borderlands 3, you may or may not be disappointed to learn that you won’t be getting any new playable Vault Hunters to join Amara, Flak, Moze and Zane.

Sage confirmed as much during a Q&A on the first Borderlands Show livestream. Asked if the game would be in receipt of novel DLC characters, he offered a response that seemed both succinct and inconclusive. “Probably not, no,” Sage replied, leaving the door open but somehow slamming it shut at the same time.

So there appears to be a slim hope margin and Gearbox could decide to go a different route. But for the time being, the devs don’t appear to have any plans to create additional Vault Hunters.

Sage also explained the decision, which wasn’t an entirely new revelation. The choice to keep playable characters down to the original number is based on data collected by the devs that show that players hardly use DLC Vault Hunters anyway. Players are generally loyal to their mains and, while they’ll level up on a new character for a bit, they tend to switch back after a while.

This announcement should hardly come as a surprise. The game had been hinting that DLC characters would be a thing of the past through the story in Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Downloadable characters were tied into the campaign, where they fit in well. However, one could tell that there wasn’t a huge focus on that front.

While it’s highly likely that no other characters will be dropped in there, there’s going to be plenty of other DLC. Gearbox has already pointed to the game’s first free DLC event, Bloody Harvest, which starts soon.

There have also been announcements regarding the free Maliwan Takedown event, plus the initial premium DLC set to be added in the Season Pass.