The developers of Borderlands 4 allowed a terminally ill player to play an early version of the loot shooter in 2024. Now the gamer is reaching out to the community.
Who is this player? In October 2024, we reported on MeinMMO about Caleb McAlpine. He reached out to the Borderlands community, as he is a huge fan of the series, but he did not know if he would live to see the release of Borderlands 4. He had been diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer, and doctors estimated in August 2024 that he had only 7-12 months left to live.
Caleb asked the community if anyone knew how to contact the developers and inquire if there was a way to play the loot shooter in advance. Gearbox Software granted his wish about a month later by inviting him and a friend to the studio and allowed him to play an early version of Borderlands 4.
A year after his diagnosis, Caleb reached out again through Reddit to the community and shared how he has been doing since then.
Gaming through pain
What does the player say? Caleb posted in the Borderlands community about 2 weeks ago. He writes: “Hey everyone, I’m still here. Last year, I wrote this post and Gearbox flew me out. I survived the 12 months and I’m still here. Are all of you as ready to play BL4 as I am?”
In the comments under the post, he makes it clear that he is very excited about the release of Borderlands 4 and has spent his time until then playing the old entries in the series and Pokémon: Legends Arceus.
In his latest comment from September 2, he also discusses how gaming is for him now and the difficulties he faces:
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to do many things. Holding an Xbox controller is really no fun after about 5 minutes, but I have gloves that help a little. The neuropathy in my hands and feet is so unbearable that I can’t walk most days. I also can’t open cans or bottles anymore. Most of the time, I need someone to help me with that.
The cancer has also spread to my left lung, and sometimes it hurts to breathe. But I do everything I can.
Overall, Caleb thanks everyone who stayed in contact with him and checked in on him. These little messages have sometimes come at just the right moment.
Regarding Borderlands 4, Caleb said he is confident that he will not be disappointed. When it comes to the Vault Hunters, he usually chooses the soldier of the respective game, but the Siren of Borderlands 4, Vex, also seems interesting to him. Here you can check out the different classes again: Borderlands 4: All character classes with story and skills in the list
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