LogIn"I never expected anything like this. It almost felt like a dream to be honest."
Gearbox
Caleb McAlpine, a 37-year-old army veteran, faces a tough reality: he's been diagnosed with terminal cancer, with doctors estimating he has less than a year to live – two at most if treatment is successful. Yet, amidst this hardship, there are also glimpses of hope, as his remaining time is set to be filled with love from his family, friends, and now from the gaming company behind his favorite franchise and the community.
Not long after he expressed his wish to see Borderlands 4 before its likely late-2025 launch, a time that he wasn't sure if he could make it, he was happily "floored" to be contacted by the developer's boss and offered a chance to fly to the studio to see the game early.
A few days ago, after seeing McAlpine's request, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford promised, "Whatever we can to make something happen." Caleb McAlpine confirmed that he will visit the Gearbox headquarters in Texas next month to see how Borderlands 4 looks right now.
When talking with GamesRadar+ via email, McAlpine shared what happened after sharing the Reddit post and how it all shocked him:
"I honestly did not expect it to blow up like that. I had thousands of notifications and streamers that I have watched their videos commenting on it. When I received an email from Randy I couldn’t believe it. It was awesome to see the CEO of Gearbox emailing me and telling me that he would do whatever he could to help me out. I was just floored to be honest. In a good way. I never expected anything like this. It almost felt like a dream to be honest."
Other than telling the current situation, McAlpine also recalled the story between himself and the Borderlands franchise. "We would actually have Borderlands parties at the house or in the barracks where we would put three or four TVs together and play that way. It was a fun time with good people and obviously a good game." He shared a picture which captured that great memory:
Caleb McAlpine
After being diagnosed with cancer, his friends gifted him a Switch, and the first games he'd downloaded were the entire Borderlands series. During the chemo, when chemicals used to kill cancer cells in his body also brought unimaginable pain at the same time, it was the games that helped ease everything.
"I take my Switch with me to the infusion clinic and I have Borderlands geared up and ready to go. Of course BL3 is best but you still have to farm. I loaded up BL2 and started that game again this last round of chemo just so I could get going and just be a Vault Hunter in that game too."
As McAlpine's story was seen by more people, the donations on GoFundMe also increased, passing the original goal in a few days. Hopefully, the great support from the community and the gaming world will help him navigate through difficult times.
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