LogIn"That's not an apology. That's a refusal of accountability."
After disappointing thousands of fans and single-handedly derailing Borderlands 4's promotional campaign with his "if you're a real fan, you'll find a way" to pay $80 for a video game comment, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has appearently realized that bad PR is not, in fact, good PR and tried to walk back the statement in a lengthy essay, lessening the entire kerfuffle to a mere "misunderstanding."
Written in response to Anthony Mirage's post making fun of Pitchford's aforementioned "real fan" statement, the lengthy write-up alleges that Randy doesn't, in fact, want "anyone to pay any more than they should or are comfortable with."
What he tried to say, the CEO claims, is that the price of Borderlands 4 is not for him to decide, but if a $10 price increase does happen – a $20 increase, since Borderlands 3 is selling for $60, but that's beside the point – it will be okay because, as he says, the franchise still has numerous dedicated fans who "will see the value and want it."
He also stated that $80 price tags are "obviously where the industry is going" and that his "using the phrase 'real fans' triggered some people," in what appears to be an attempt to dismiss the entire controversy as the gaming community misinterpreting his words.
"I saw that it got inflated as if I was making some big statement (I wasn't – I was just trying to help someone who I thought was sincerely worried about us and looking out for us) and I could see that it was being pressed into the idea that I was taking the audience for granted (which is a super shitty look, but it was not at all my intent and does not reflect at all how I feel)," Pitchford wrote.
In response, Mirage prepared a statement of his own, succinctly summarizing Randy's wordy retraction by saying, "That's not an apology. That's a refusal of accountability."
He further dissected the non-pology point by point, saying that "gaslighting and acting like it was the players who misunderstood what you said is not acceptable" and emphasizing that "the market is actually not heading towards the direction of vastly inflated game price points," citing "a multitude of game developers who have created beautiful experiences for players for only $50-$60, in 2025," such as Split Fiction, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
"As far as the cost of the game, don't try and justify it by blaming the market," Anthony rebuked. "You developers and CEO's, as well as your shareholders, have been waiting for an incident to happen that would allow all of you to increase prices on these games. You guys aren't the victims in the industry, the players are, as a result of you higher-ups sitting in your executive boardroom with your shareholders trying to figure out how you can take more money from the players.
You've yet to release an official statement to the 10's of thousands of players you alienated with your comments. The best you can seemingly do is release a toxic gaslighting apology, yet again shifting the blame onto the players by acting as if they misunderstood what you said. It was pretty clear you had zero sympathy for players who were concerned about the prospect of BL4 costing $80."
So, what's your take on Pitchford's retraction? Was it all really just a misunderstanding, or is it nothing but a flimsy attempt at damage control from a CEO who's only now grasping the backlash his earlier comments caused? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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