Borderlands 4 and Randy Pitchford go hand in hand—and not in a way fans appreciate.
The Gearbox CEO distracted from the game by using awkward phrasing, poorly timed tweets, and a communication style that felt more provocative than transparent.
The launch buildup that should have gone smoothly instead became another cycle of Pitchford making controversial comments, fans getting frustrated, and talk of cutting his internet access.
Where Did All This Backlash Start?
The most recent backlash began when Borderlands 3 dropped to just $3 in the Steam Summer Sale.
Instead of leaving it to the deal to explain itself, Pitchford noted it took more than five years to hit that price and warned fans Borderlands 4 wouldn’t follow that route.
His comment wasn’t inherently offensive but paired with his earlier remark about $80 “real fans” finding a way, it struck a nerve. Many viewed it as an unneeded brag meant to say patience would not bring rewards this time. The response was massive and overwhelmingly negative.
Lots of top comments said the same thing: people are tired of being talked down to by someone who should be building excitement, not making them resentful.
Users roasted Pitchford for hyping things up but only doing the bare minimum—setting prices and then delivering them with such low energy that it made people want to wait even longer just to make a point.
Others even dug into his past, pointing out that this wasn’t the first time he had turned marketing into a disaster.
Was He Actually Wrong?
And yet, what makes this mess even weirder is that Pitchford isn’t necessarily lying.
AAA development costs have ballooned. Borderlands 4 reportedly has a budget more than twice that of its predecessor. Keeping the price steady for longer does make financial sense.
But at the same time, the way it was said matters. Instead of calmly making sense of it, he framed it as a dare—players had to spend now or lose their shot.
To his credit, Pitchford did respond directly to much of the backlash. Some of his replies were measured, even helpful. Transparency is important, and developers opening up about cost and pricing decisions should be encouraged.
Is It the Message or the Messenger?
The core issue is that Pitchford keeps making the same mistake: trying to sound honest while underestimating how badly his tone lands with the people actually buying his games.
Every time he tweets, he manages to shift the narrative away from the game and toward himself—and that’s not a great place to be when the goal is to sell a new title.
Even fans who still enjoy the Borderlands series are saying they’ll wait for a massive discount now, not because of the game’s quality, but because of how Pitchford handles the spotlight. The irony is that Borderlands 4 might actually be shaping up well.
Early impressions say the essentials of big weapons, chaotic teamwork, and silly humor are all still in place. Regardless of the game’s quality, it’s getting lost in debates about social media fails and management blunders.
In the end, Pitchford may be trying to manage expectations, but all he’s managed to do is sour them. For a game with so much riding on it, that’s a rough look. And it didn’t have to be this way.
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