Just a day after having angered the Borderlands fan base by saying that “real fans” would figure out a way to buy Borderlands 4 even if it were to be sold at an $80 price tag, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has now posted an apology on social media platform X. Responding to another fan who compared Pitchford’s earlier post to something Borderlands 2 antagonist Handsome Jack would say, Pitchford said that it was not his intent to take fans of the franchise for granted with his remarks.
“Boy howdy, JackGPT, is that how I sound? My bad, but cheers to Duke_Newcombe and @MoxsyOG for the funniest thing I’m going to read today,” posted Pitchford, responding to a post reiterating his previous post in the voice of Handsome Jack.
“In seriousness though, nobody likes being taken for granted and it was not my intent,” his post continues. “I’m humbled by the love and support everyone has shown the team as we push hard to get this amazing game in your hands. They’re crushing it, and I can’t wait for everyone to play what’s going to be the best Borderlands ever! Regardless of where the price lands, it’s going to be worth it and then some. Back to work for me!”
The whole saga came about because Pitchford, responding to a Borderlands fan on X, said that the price of the game wasn’t his call. In his earlier post, Pitchford then went on to talk about having to save up money from a minimum wage job in order to buy an $80 copy of Starfighter for the Sega Genesis back in 1991.
“If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen,” he posted. “My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.”
As one might expect, the post by Pitchford wasn’t received well by Borderlands fans at all. Several of them responded to him; while some mocked his attempts at gatekeeping the concept of being a fan of the franchise on the basis of how much disposable income one might have, others also pointed out that several places all over the world have been going through economic troubles.
Borderlands 4 is currently under development for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. It is slated for release on September 12. In a recent Creator’s Voice video about the Switch 2 version of Borderlands 4, Gearbox’s chief creative officer Randy Varnell revealed that the title had been in development for six years. According to Varnell, right after the release of Borderlands 3, the studio started to work on “filling up Borderlands with great adventure.”
While you wait for the release of the next title in the co-op looter shooter franchise, you can also check out a gameplay trailer released earlier this month that gave us a look at the various traversal methods that will be available in the game, as well as hints at what its story might entail.
