Borderlands 2 Psycho too "out there" for inclusion in core game

Gearbox Software always really liked Krieg the Psycho, its latest downloadable character for Borderlands 2, but wasn't confident fans could accept advanced skill relations.

In a developer diary on the Gearbox website, Borderlands 2 creative director and lead designer Paul Hellquist said his idea for Krieg dates right back to pre-production. Unfortunately, the time wasn't right.

"The group generally really liked the pitch, but the major critique was that it was just too out there for one of the core characters for Borderlands 2," he said.

"The group felt that it would not have enough broad appeal for new to Borderlands and returning customers alike. Ultimately, they were right. It was a fairly complicated design that was interesting but put a lot of burden on the player to see why it was cool."

Hellquist said he knew the pitch was solid but agreed with the team that it wasn't the time. After the launch of the first DLC character, Gaige the Mechromancer, the team started looking for a new addition to the roster, so he brought the pitch up again.

"Jonathan's work on the Mechromancer had shown that our fans were willing to embrace more advanced ideas and skill relationships in Borderlands characters," he said.

"Second of all we knew that, by the time we finished building the Psycho, it would be well into 2013 and the game would have been out for quite some time. We knew that our fans that would be still playing the game at that time were going to be our most dedicated and most experienced players.

"These are the players who, by now, know the game better than even I do. Because of this understanding of the potential customer for Krieg we knew that we could push the class design further and that the players would be ready for it. You guys are looking for something new, fresh, and exciting that can reinvigorate the game for you. I designed Krieg to fit that bill. Let's hope I've succeeded."

Krieg is available this week on all three systems, and will cost $10 or 800 Microsoft Points.