The boss of Borderlands 4 once again sparks a shitstorm with his latest post. This time, he wanted to tempt “cost-sensitive” fans with a free offer, but it backfired.
Who is it about? Randy Pitchford is the CEO of Gearbox and has previously found himself in a shitstorm. About two weeks ago, a fan asked the CEO not to make Borderlands 4 an €80 title. But instead of a calming response, the CEO wrote that back in 1991 he also worked for minimum wage at an ice cream parlor to afford an €80 game.
In light of the rising cost of living in the USA, this post was not well received and caused a shitstorm. Randy Pitchford later published a statement explaining why everyone misunderstood him, but this statement was also met with loud criticism from fans.
Instead of leaving it at those posts, the boss has returned with another contribution that once again polarizes.
Here you can see what Borderlands 4 definitely needs to improve:
New post causes trouble because of free game
What did the boss write this time? Randy Pitchford promoted an offer from Epic Games in his new post. Currently, the spin-off of Borderlands, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, is available for free as a weekly offer until June 5, 2025, at 5:00 PM.
The boss promoted the offer on X.com:
For our real fans who may be a bit cost-sensitive, the fantastic and incredibly funny video game hit Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is FREE this week in the Epic Games Store. Please enjoy this FREE gift by grabbing your FREE copy here, FREE.
How are fans reacting to this? Fans do not find this post funny at all and begin to criticize. The first to respond is @Lt_Frost935 on X.com, who writes: “Randy, do you really think the plan is to make sneaky remarks to your consumers about being ‘cost-sensitive’? What happened to you?”
The boss does not take this lightly and counters: “Sneaky? There are literally people who want to play great video games, have a game-capable PC, but may not be able to spend enough to buy a new AAA game for a while, and this week there is a free offer for one of the best shooters released in the last five years…”
Fan @Lt_Frost935 responds again: “The repeated use of the word ‘free’ after your criticism of your comment about ‘real fans would manage it with an €80 price tag’ Randy. Come on… you’re a smart person, it’s not that hard to recognize.”
And the CEO strikes back again: “I see it as a honest truth that there are core gamers who have a gaming-ready PC, an Xbox, or a Playstation and cannot afford a $10 price increase. I really want all these people to not overlook that this is a FREE offer for an amazing game. Free is the keyword!”
Does he also say something about Borderlands 4? Yes, under one of the many posts to which the CEO has responded, he also talks about the price of his new game. Previously, @TastyThumbs said on X.com: “Dude, you really need to shut up. There is no reason for games to cost $80, especially if they are like part 3 or this bad joke of a movie.”
The CEO also engages in this and responds: “I fear the industry is moving in this direction, and that’s just the reality we have to accept. The price for Borderlands 4 will be announced by the publisher soon. After I’ve worked my ass off for the game, I hope as many people as possible can play it.”
The discussion between fans and the boss of Borderlands is reignited time and again, as Randy Pitchford now responds to many of the comments. Each new response sparks new comments that range from constructive criticism, life stories of people with problems to wild insults. Thus, new discussions are always sparked.
If the price for Borderlands 4 really is set at €80, then the CEO will likely receive more comments, even though the publisher sets the price, not the boss himself. Borderlands 4 is set to be released on September 12, 2025, and aims to do one thing much better than its predecessor: Borderlands 4 promises that they will do the loot much better than in part 3: This is their plan
