Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has been under fire recently for comments made to a fan over X. This has led to fans ridiculing the CEO online and calling him out for not respecting the fanbase that supports the Borderlands franchise. Pitchford is once again trying to reach out to the community to apologize for his statement and explain its origins, stating that his previous statement was a “misunderstanding” and that he was “just trying to help someone.” As per usual, many fans are not ecstatic about the statement and are calling Pitchford out for “gaslighting” them.
Gearbox CEO apologizes for “Real Fans” comment
In a recent post on X, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford apologized for comments he made earlier in the month. In his previous statement, Pitchford responded to a fan warning him about increasing the price of Borderlands 4 to $80, saying, “If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.” This enraged the community for obvious reasons since the CEO directly stated that only a “real fan” is okay with paying the extra cost.
Another fan on X wrote, “I saw something crazy too. A CEO of Gearbox Software made players feel bad and alienated them for not wanting to pay $80 for his game.” In response to this, Pitchford sent a rather lengthy reply that I linked to earlier in the article. The response is peppered with excuses about “trying to help someone who [Pitchford] thought was sincerely worried about [Gearbox Software].”
The Gearbox CEO said that the response was just a “misunderstanding,” and that he doesn’t “want anyone to pay any more than they should or are comfortable with.” Later in the post, Pitchford stated, “I’m not claiming I’m perfect,” and that he “cannot help” wanting to “try to help those that don’t get it to gain some perspective and some dignity.”
The CEO is known for some outrageous comments on his X account and having a sort of “flip-flopping” nature. In response to his massive post, one user replied, “If you respected the players as much as you claim and further have been doing this for as long as you claim, you wouldn’t have said, ‘If you’re a real fan, you’ll make it happen.’ That’s not the kind of mistake a good CEO makes, respectfully.”
Others in the comments stated that his apology “is just [Pitchford] making excuses.” It is clear that Pitchford has done some great harm to the franchise’s image, and there is no telling if it will recover before the game’s release date in September.
