The story began with a tweet from a fan of the Borderlands series, who expressed doubts about the new installment in the franchise. They noted that the game visually resembles Borderlands 3 too closely and might face challenges due to a potential reduction in the marketing budget. Additionally, they drew a parallel to the failed Borderlands 2024 movie, which was heavily criticized by both audiences and critics, including even Uwe Boll. Instead of engaging in a dialogue with the community, Pitchford stated that he "doesn't want to see this negativity" and planned to block the user to avoid unnecessary stress. Later, he clarified that he had changed his mind and simply muted notifications from that account.

The situation escalated when another popular streamer, Gothalion, urged the developer to be more open to criticism and respectful of the opinions of long-time fans of the series. In response, Randy stated that he did not consider this comment constructive, calling it "toxic pessimism". He also emphasized that developers are literally "killing themselves to entertain players".

This behavior sparked mixed reactions within the community. Some users supported Pitchford, pointing out the immense pressure game developers face. Others, however, perceived his words as an attempt to avoid constructive dialogue and called his behavior overly emotional. Many also reminded everyone that this is not the first time the head of Gearbox has made sharp remarks on social media.

Borderlands 4 will be released on September 23, 2025, for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC.

Main image: gearboxsoftware.com

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