He Said, He Said
Something at Gearbox has been bubbling under the surface for a little while. The matter of the employees’ Borderlands 3 royalties has had fans and critics alike pretty critical of Gearbox executives, namely the Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford. There have been anonymous claims that Gearbox had not been paying their employees the royalties from the most recent Borderlands game. Royalties going to game devs are pretty uncommon in the gaming industry. However, on the other side of things, a Gearbox director has made a statement defending Pitchford and refuting these claims, which have been backed up by some employees. Now, the boss himself has spoken up about this controversy.
The news about these Borderlands 3 royalties first broke on Kotaku, where anonymous sources had said they had not been paid what they were promised for their work on the game. Pitchford called this story “tabloid click bait”, then responded with the statement on LinkedIn from director Maxime Babin. Now, readers can take everything they see at face-value if they choose, but if you are struggling to figure out who should be believed, you are not the only ones.
On one hand, the article on Kotaku is by Jason Schreier, who is a well-regarded video game journalist. Good journalists like him leave their bias at the door, but his sources remain anonymous, which is expected when it comes to criticisms from within a company like Gearbox. So, don’t expect a Gearbox employee to come out and break this story wide open. On the other hand, Pitchford links his own source from a “credible, verifiable” employee Maxime Babin. Babin has no backlash to fear, so he feels free to say that Gearbox and Randy Pitchford have treated them well. Read both, see what you think, and decide for yourself who you believe. Borderlands 3 is available now for PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Stadia.
Do you think Gearbox employees deserve more or do you think that this has been blown out of proportion? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Twitter