A hot potato: After managing to annoy pretty much everybody earlier this week when he said that "real fans" would find a way to get hold of Borderland 4, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has addressed the controversy. But, as is always the case with CEOs, he never directly apologized.
The situation started when Pitchford posted on X that he was excited at the prospect of bringing the upcoming Borderlands 4 to the Nintendo Switch 2.
A fan responded to the message, expressing concerns that the game would be priced at $80, something they said a lot of gamers wouldn't pay. They also said the CEO must surely have some influence in the pricing decision.
Pitchford's response was, "A) Not my call. B) If you're a real fan, you'll find a way to make it happen. 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."
A) Not my call. B) If you're a real fan, you'll find a way to make it happen. 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.
– Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 14, 2025
This obviously didn't go down well, especially with the person who wrote the comment, who noted that they had purchased every Borderlands-related release since 2009.
In a follow-up post on the subject, Pitchford included a video from a previous interview in which he was asked how much Borderlands 4 would retail for.
"It's an interesting time, right," Pitchford said. "On one level, we've got a competitive market place. The people who make those choices want to sell as many units as possible, and they want to be careful about people who are price sensitive. So, there are some folks who don't want to see prices go up, even the ones deciding what the prices are."
Pitchford added that there are also those who accept the fact game budgets are increasing – Borderlands 4 has more than twice the budget of its predecessor – "and there's tariffs for the retail packaging" to consider.
"Here's the philosophy we have, whatever the price is: we're entertainers. Yes, we want to get more resources so we can make bigger and better games - there is a reason why Borderlands 4 is so awesome," Pitchford continued. "It's because you guys showed up and supported Borderlands 3. And, we had the budget, we could more than double the budget and feel confident in that."
Pitchford finished by stating that Borderlands 4 might land with the "new price that Nintendo and Microsoft have led with," I.e., $80, or "it might be that we stay back." But either way, "it's going to be the people at the publishing house that decide that."
If you want the truth, here it is: pic.twitter.com/3bqdA5gIU2
– Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 21, 2025
In his latest and what sounds like final post on the matter, Pitchford gave about the closest thing to an apology he's likely to offer.
"In seriousness though, nobody likes being taken for granted and it was not my intent. 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."
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!
– Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 22, 2025
In seriousness though, nobody likes being taken for granted and it was not my intent. I'm humbled by the love and support everyone has shown… https://t.co/jWtNh9YpPX
It was revealed in April that every first-party Nintendo Switch 2 game will cost $70 or $80 – even the old ones – which the company blames on upgrades, inflation, and tariffs. Soon after, Microsoft announced huge increases for Xbox hardware and that its games would cost $80.
As Pitchford mentions, game budgets are getting larger, and the money to pay for them has to come from somewhere. Companies argue that more money makes for better games, but the three best-reviewed titles of 2025 so far – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Split Fiction, and Blue Prince – are all budget games.
