Randy Pitchford embroiled in new scandal

The story of Borderlands 4 kicked off with a tweet from a fan of the series, expressing concerns about the upcoming game. They pointed out that the visuals seemed too similar to Borderlands 3 and worried about a potential cut in the marketing budget. They also compared it to the disappointing Borderlands 2024 movie, which received harsh criticism from audiences and even from director Uwe Boll. Instead of fostering a conversation with the community, Randy Pitchford, head of Gearbox, initially stated he wanted to block the user to shield himself from negativity. Later, he changed his approach, opting to mute notifications from that account instead.

The situation intensified when popular streamer Gothalion encouraged Gearbox to be more receptive to criticism and respectful of the long-time fans' opinions. In response, Pitchford dismissed the feedback as "toxic pessimism" and stressed that developers are "killing themselves to entertain players."

This sparked a range of reactions within the community. Some rallied behind Pitchford, acknowledging the intense pressure faced by game developers. However, others felt his response was an evasion of constructive dialogue and criticized his emotional reaction. Many also recalled that this wasn't the first instance of Pitchford making contentious remarks on social media.

Borderlands 4 is set to launch on September 23, 2025, and will be available on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC.