'Borderlands 2' will release its downloadable Mechromancer class 'by October 16th'

Borderlands 2's Mechromancer will release by October 16th for $10.

The fifth character class for Borderlands 2, the Mechromancer, will be available for download "by October 16th," Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford announced at PAX today.

Pitchford says the date is all-but confirmed — "There may be a little fudge factor there," he warned — as the downloadable content is still being developed by the Borderlands 2 team. The Mechromancer, a pet-style class who can summon the robot weapon known as Deathtrap, will cost $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points when she's released in October. Players who pre-order Borderlands 2 will get the Mechromancer for free, however.

In addition to the Mechromancer DLC, Pitchford confirmed that the studio is working on four more downloadable content packs for Borderlands 2.

"We have committed ourselves and are in pre-production on four campaign DLCs," Pitchford said. "These are all big original, themed, fully built out campaign DLCs. This isn't just 'here have a couple of guns.'"

Gearbox says the post-release content will include new NPCs, new loot, and new guns. He later likened the breadth of each episode to that of "The Secret Armory of General Knoxx" for the original Borderlands.

"We're working our asses off [on it]," Pitchford said.

Borderlands 2 is slated for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on September 18th.