In Borderlands 3 there is trouble just 8 hours after the presentation. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford announced: There will be no microtransactions. However, a gaming site points out that there are indeed some. Now Pitchford is on the barricades. He didn’t mean it that way.
This is what Pitchford said: At the end of the big reveal stream Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford had a few closing words. He apparently wanted to assure that Borderlands 3 remains true to the ‘spirit’ of Borderlands and does not tread the ugly paths of other big AAA titles in terms of monetization.
He said:
We will bring some hefty campaign DLCs and many fun customization things like heads or skins. But we are not doing any Free2Play crap. There are no microtransactions. None of that nonsense.
Right after the sentence “There are no microtransactions”, cheers erupted in the audience.
Row with gaming site over microtransactions
This is what happened next: The major US gaming site Game Informer shortly thereafter published a tweet:
- Pitchford had said there were no microtransactions
- But they had learned that cosmetic items were indeed purchasable
In an interview (via Game Informer) Paul Sage, the Creative Director, reportedly told them that cosmetic items are sold in Borderlands 3.
So there are indeed microtransactions in the game – but only for cosmetic items and not excessively.
This immediately called Randy Pitchford to action. He got upset about this portrayal under the tweet.
Pitchford feels portrayed as a liar
This is what Pitchford is upset about: Pitchford says he did say there are cosmetic items in Borderlands 3. What he meant by “no microtransactions” was actually that there are no loot boxes and no premium currency. These are not in Borderlands 3.
However, tempers calmed quickly after the editor-in-chief of Game Informer backed down.
On his own Twitter account, Pitchford then explained his point of view a bit more calmly, after initially snapping at the people from Game Informer.
Pitchford apparently feels misrepresented. He did not lie.
Pitchford says: He expected applause for sticking to their standards in AAA monetization. Therefore, it hurt him that he was accused of dishonesty and that they had strayed from the path.
At the end of his statements on Twitter, Pitchford seems to be somewhat more conciliatory already. Pitchford even admits that his statements left room for confusion to arise.
This is what’s behind it: There is a discrepancy here between what Pitchford said “literally” and what he meant:
- He said: “There are no microtransactions.”
- What he meant was: “There are no exaggerated, evil pay-to-win microtransactions – but only cosmetic ones.”
