Yep, this is a thing the Gearbox exec has tweeted. He’s posted that indie shooter Mycopunk is “cheaper than a point of meth” and “probably has fewer side effects, too”, in response to publisher Devolver Digital making a joke about Borderlands 4 potentially costing $80.
We all through the exec accidentally revealing B4’s revised release date ahead of schedule by goofing up with timezones when tweeting about it was him at the peak of his posting powers. It wasn’t. Randy’s still evolving, and he has things to say.
There’s some context to this latest ‘you what?’-inducing post from Pitchford, and it involves more ill-concieved tweets. On May 14, the Gearbox CEO responded to a fan concerned about the latest entry in the Borderlands possibly setting players back $80.
“A) Not my call. B) If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen,” the exec replied, “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.”
As you’d expect, that post’s drawn him lots of flak from regular folks who don’t like having it insinuated that you’re not a “real fan” if you aren’t able to buy an $80 game while also keeping your head above water during the cost of living crisis we’re all living through.
One of the responses has come from Devolver, which joked: “You’re gonna be able to buy Mycopunk for you and three of your friends for the price of one copy of Borderlands 4.” Pitchford responded to that light ribbing that mainly serves to promo developer Pigeons at Play’s upcoming co-op shooter by posting: “Mycopunk is cheaper than a point of meth – probably has fewer side effects, too!”
Yeah, imagine if your boss – who’s already made your work life harder by running his mouth – posted that.
That’s not been it either, Pitchford’s also issued what very much looks like a response to the “real fan” backlash by sharing a clip of him talking about Borderlands 4’s still unrevealed price at a recent PAX East panel, reasoning that it’s “the truth” for those who want it.
It’s three minutes long, and basically sees him admit that he doesn’t know how much the game’ll cost, before going through the factors that could influence how much games cost these days – game sellers having to be aware that some folks they’ll want to sell to are in “price-sensitive” situations, while others are “accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there are tariffs for the retail packaging, and it’s getting gnarly out there”.
“We want people to buy [the game], so we have the resources to make more,” Pitchford said, “but we want everyone who buys and plays a Gearbox game to feel certain that they got the better end of the bargain. Whatever the price is, that they got the best value.” Why didn’t he just say that in the first tweet? Beats me.
