Borderlands 2 Hammerlock DLC dated, level cap increase coming next year

Anxious to get your hands on Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, the latest DLC announced for Borderlands 2? Luckily, you don't have too much longer to wait, as a new post on the Borderlands 2 Blog says it'll be available for Xbox 360 and PC on January 15. The PS3 release will follow shortly afterward, with the DLC going live on PSN on January 16.

Like Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty and Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage before it, Hammerlock will set you back $10 or 800MSP. Of course, if you purchased the Borderlands 2 season pass, you'll be able to download the DLC at no additional cost once it launches. This is the third of four planned DLC packs for Borderlands 2, and expectations for Hammerlock are high after the first two impressed.

In this new DLC, players will begin a new campaign with Sir Hammerlock that is suddenly interrupted by "a new villain intent on restoring the legacy of Handsome Jack." That tidbit of information tells us that this DLC takes place after the main story has wrapped up. There will naturally be new weapons to collect and new enemies to fight, along with a new continent called Aegrus to explore.

But what about that level cap increase players have asking for at every opportunity? It's coming, but not until sometime in Q1 2013. That seems to suggest players won't be getting the level cap increase with Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, but shortly afterward instead. Hopefully it gets here quickly, because it seems that many players have already hit level 50 with multiple characters. Will you be picking up Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt at launch?