Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford Says Real 'Borderlands' Fans Will Find A Way To Pay $80 For 'Borderlands 4'
Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox, the developer of the Borderlands franchise, said that real fans of the Borderlands franchise will find a way to pay $80 if that is what the game will retail for.
Pitchford shared a promotional video for Borderlands 4 and the game releasing on Nintendo Switch 2, writing on X, “I am so very excited for the Nintendo Switch 2 and I am even more excited to bring Borderlands 4 to this incredible, magical machine!”
In response an individual stated, “Randy, this game better not be 80 dollars. Don't take that risk, alot of gamers aren't gonna pay 80 dollars and feed this notion of constant increase of the price tag You are the CEO, you have some say with the price when it comes to your publisher.”
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Pitchford replied, “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 number of individuals were not happy with Pitchford’s comments. YouTuber Vara Dark wrote on X, “What a terrible response. ‘If you’re a REAL FAN’ is an awful thing to use against someone.”
Synth Potato wrote, “Dawg we are NOT paying $80 for a Borderlands game fully knowing you’ll do multiple season passes that cost another $100 and you’ll probably sell weapon skins too.”
Tesla Tidbits wrote, “Way to endear yourselves to *any* fan there Randy. BL3 was a technical mess and the series needs a hit, and you're out here talking about who ‘real’ fans are? Way to earn that $80 man.”
FSAPOJake wrote, “I can't wait for the AAA games industry to collapse in on itself. I'm excitedly counting down the days.”
Rise wrote, “Real fan here. However, most of us have stagnant wages since 2021, and the cost of living has never been higher. A is likely correct. We could have just done without B.”
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CanadianZar posted, “Can’t wait to buy the ultimate edition of BL4 with every single season pass in two years time for the low price of $20 dollars. This is definitely not the stuff you should be saying to the fans, especially when you made a terrible live action adaptation that you have to cover the cost of because it failed. That’s probably why you said what you said in this comment. Lmao.”
Streamer Asmongold shared his thoughts as well, “The funny thing is that this is true for many game franchises (FF, FromSoftware, Baldurs Gate) but I don't think it's true for Borderlands After watching all of the trailers and gameplay footage, I just don't see how another mediocre millennial humor looter shooter is worth 80$”
It’s unclear at this point if Borderlands 4 will cost $80. Gearbox nor the game’s publisher 2K have revealed a price for the game, which is expected to release on September 12, 2025.
As for Pitchford’s comments, it’s illuminating that he claims the pricing of the game is not his call despite being Gearbox’s CEO.
As for his second point, while his use of the term “real fan” is quite clearly being interpreted as condescending, the point behind it still stands. People who do want to play the game will find a way to save up $80 and pay for it.
In fact, at least one individual noted he would have no problem paying $80 for the game, “I will. Games avg 59 bucks in 2005. That’s 97 today. We are still getting games at a bargain. 80 bucks for unlimited entertainment is a steal. It costs more than that for movie and dinner for 2 that last 2-4 hrs.”
But that begs the question, will the game be able to sell enough copies at an $80 price point in order to justify its costs or does that $80 price point push too many people away from the game?
As Asmongold notes it likely has a lot to do with the game and what it has to offer. And as we’ve seen in recent years some gamers have no problem dropping truckloads of cash on games like Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, World of Warcraft, Madden NFL 25, and others. However, other gamers are just not willing to do so.
This is likely why Nintendo adopted a variant price strategy for its Nintendo Switch 2 games. Not all games will have the same price, but the prices will vary depending on how they value the game and what they believe gamers will value the game at.
What do you make of Pitchford’s comments? Will you pay $80 for Borderlands 4?
Pitchford continues to be a piece of shit. This is how he views customers - as paypigs.
Borderlands 2 was so over the top anti-white that I didn't buy BL3. I told my son 3 would be worse than 2 and he bought it anyway.
He told me later I was right.
Weren't they banning accounts if anyone "misgendered" one of the characters?
NO THANKS. Not buying.
Suckit.