Randy Pitchford embroiled in new scandal

The story of Borderlands 4 began with a tweet from a dedicated fan of the series, who voiced concerns about the upcoming installment. They pointed out that the game's visuals bear a striking resemblance to Borderlands 3 and speculated that it might struggle due to a possible cut in the marketing budget. The fan also compared it to the poorly received Borderlands 2024 movie, which faced heavy criticism from audiences and even notorious director Uwe Boll. Instead of fostering a discussion with the community, Randy Pitchford, the head of Gearbox, expressed his desire to avoid "this negativity" and initially planned to block the user to reduce stress. He later revised his stance, opting instead to mute notifications from the account.

The controversy intensified when popular streamer Gothalion called on the developer to be more receptive to criticism and respectful towards the opinions of the franchise's long-time fans. In response, Pitchford dismissed the feedback as "toxic pessimism" and not constructive, further emphasizing the extreme efforts developers make, saying they are "killing themselves to entertain players".

This behavior led to a split in the community's response. Some rallied behind Pitchford, acknowledging the intense pressure that game developers endure. On the other hand, many viewed his response as an evasion of constructive dialogue, labeling his reaction as overly emotional. Several community members also recalled this was not the first instance of Pitchford making controversial remarks on social media.

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