Latest news with #Borderlands4
Express Tribune
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Baldur's Gate 3 publisher criticices Randy Pitchford's $80 Borderlands 4, calls it gross
Michael Douse, publishing director of Larian Studios, has criticised Gearbox Software boss Randy Pitchford over his recent remarks on the pricing of the upcoming Borderlands 4, calling them 'gross' amid ongoing cost-of-living concerns. Pitchford sparked backlash after suggesting that 'real fans' would 'find a way' to purchase Borderlands 4 even if it launched at an $80 price point — a significant increase compared to typical game costs. He cited paying $80 for a Sega Genesis game 30 years ago as justification, a claim many see as out of touch with current economic realities. Douse, whose studio developed Baldur's Gate 3, called Pitchford's comment 'gross.' on social media: 'Inflation exists (we give inflation bumps for example to employees) and price increases can make sense, but saying 'real fans will find a way' is gross because it assumes your game is more important during a cost of living crisis than, for example, making it day to day.' He added: 'Real fans are people who love & understand what you do, keep track, and engage with your stuff regardless of how much they spend.' Inflation exists (we give inflation bumps for example to employees) and price increases can make sense, but saying "real fans will find a way" is gross because it assumes your game is more important during a cost of living crisis than, for example, making it day to day. — Very AFK (@Cromwelp) May 20, 2025 When asked whether Baldur's Gate 3 would ever have an $80 price tag, Douse said even if it did, 'we would probably not suggest people do whatever they can to buy it, lest they not be real fans.' Neither publisher 2K Games nor parent company Take-Two Interactive have confirmed the final price of Borderlands 4, due for release this September. However, Pitchford's comments have already stirred discontent among fans, with some resorting to review-bombing the Borderlands series on Steam amid concerns over new user agreements. The $80 price point, if confirmed, would place Borderlands 4 among the most expensive mainstream video games, prompting broader discussions about affordability and value in the gaming industry during challenging economic times.
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Borderlands 4 Randy Pitchford controversy: How much will the game cost? CEO's final verdict
Randy Pitchford, CEO of video game developer Gearbox Software, sparked controversy after claiming that a 'real fan' would pay $80 for Borderlands 4, which releases on September 12. The company, however, has not confirmed any pricing details, amid fears that the game will be priced as much as $80. On May 13, a fan tagged Pitchford on X to post: '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.' The CEO responded by reminding the fan that it is 'not my call'. "A) Not my call. B) If you're a real fan, you'll find a way to make it happen," he said on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. He further detailed how he saved money during his high school days by working for minimum wage. '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,' Pitchford tweeted. However, his comments did not sit well with gamers, who expressed frustration with Nintendo's price premium for Switch 2 titles. '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😭😭😭' one person wrote. 'That has to be one of the worst CEO replies from recent memory 💀' another one added. Following on from the controversy, Pitchford made another tweet: "If you want the truth, here it is." He attached a clip from the recent Borderlands 4 panel at PAX East, during which, when asked how much Borderlands 4 would cost, Pitchford replied: "I'll tell you the truth – I don't know." He further explained that 'we've got a competitive marketplace where the people that make those choices want to sell as many units as possible, and they want to be careful about people that are price sensitive'. "There are other folks accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there are tariffs for the retail packaging, and it's getting gnarly out there".
Forbes
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Gearbox's Randy Pitchford Responds To ‘Borderlands 4' Price Debacle
Borderlands 4 Gearbox Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford went extremely viral yesterday after a week-old tweet was passed around responding to a fan comment about a potential $80 price for Borderlands 4: '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.' The tweet inspired hundreds if not thousands of takes about its tone-deafness, plus gaming outlet coverage far and wide. It comes at a time when consumer spending power is dropping and prices are going up, and telling people if they're a 'real fan' they can make an $80 price work did not go over well, to say the least. Many fans said the tweet had derailed promotion for the game out in four months, others said they wouldn't play at all now. I find this at least…somewhat dramatic, and I have my doubts a tweet is going to significantly affect Bordlerands 4 sales this fall. But that price might. Today, Pitchford addressed the tweet by posting an older clip where he was asked about a potential price. It's a much more nuanced take on the issue, though it certainly seems to indicate that $80 is in the cards. Though this time, he says things like how he wants to create a value that fans will be happy with at any price, and addresses the plain fact that the production cost of Borderlands 4 is double that of Borderlands 3. I am no stranger to off-putting tweets from Pitchford as I've had some dust-ups myself. But a poorly-put tweet does in fact represent a larger reality (as explained in this video) about ballooning video game costs, which is true. I remember when it was revealed that Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 had triple the budget of the first game despite using a barely larger version of the same city and a second hero that had already been created for a spin-off. This is certainly not to say that $80 is the right call. Consumer only just got used to the $70 increase from $60 a few years ago, and now this leap to $80, spearheaded by Nintendo and its Mario Kart World pricing, is irritating and exhausting when 4-5 games will now be the cost of an entire console by themselves. This is what's going to happen, however. The dam has broken. In a year and a half at most, you are going to see practically all AAA games priced at $80. There is fan theorizing about Borderlands 4 publisher Take Two trying to push that even further for the release of GTA 6, the biggest game of all time, seeing if they could get to $100 or more. However, this leaves room for smaller games and smaller studios to shine. The highest rated games of the year are $50 or under, including GOTY frontrunner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 along with Blue Prince and Split/Fiction. So that's an opportunity there. It's a bad tweet. It also reflects an unfortunate reality that's coming no matter what. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Take Two shares slide after announcing $1 billion stock offering
-- Shares of Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) fell in premarket trading Wednesday after the company announced a $1 billion common stock offering. The stock fell almost 4% in the pre-open trade. Take-Two shares are up nearly 30% since the start of the year. Take-Two plans to use the proceeds for general corporate needs, which may include paying down debt and funding potential acquisitions. The company will sell all shares in the offering and has granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $150 million worth of stock. The offering is expected to close on May 22. The news comes weeks after Rockstar Games, a key Take-Two subsidiary, pushed back the release of Grand Theft Auto VI from fall 2025 to May 2026. The delay extends the already lengthy wait for what is widely considered the most anticipated title in gaming. GTA VI is a major part of Take-Two's future growth narrative, with high expectations already factored into analyst models. The previous installment, Grand Theft Auto V, launched in 2013 and has since sold more than 200 million copies, cementing its place among the top-selling games of all time. Last week, Take-Two Interactive projected fiscal 2026 bookings below revised analyst expectations, suggesting that even a packed release schedule may not fully offset the impact of the delayed launch of GTA VI. The company reported a $3.5 billion impairment charge in the fourth quarter tied to 'updating long-term expectations,' executives said during the earnings call. Still, they outlined plans to release 25 titles over fiscal 2027 and 2028, including the next GTA installment. While games like 'Borderlands 4' and 'Mafia: The Old Country' are set to launch this year, their success may not be enough to counterbalance the effect of pushing GTA VI out of the fiscal 2026 window. Related articles Take Two shares slide after announcing $1 billion stock offering HSBC cuts rating of UnitedHealth, citing earnings risks amid CEO shake-up UBS warns of stock market volatility ahead amid trade, fiscal policy uncertainty Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
《邊緣禁地4》真的要賣80美元？執行長：如果你是粉絲就想辦法買下去
2K Games 旗下 Gearbox Software 開發中的新作《邊緣禁地4》（Borderlands 4），此前 Gearbox 執行長 Randy Pitchford 才表示不清楚遊戲該賣多少。但最近 Pitchford 卻被發現，先前回應網友關於《邊緣禁地4》的售價問題時，就表示：「如果你是《邊緣禁地》粉絲就會買」。 此前，一名玩家擔心《邊緣禁地4》的售價會高達 80 美元，在 Randy Pitchford 的 X（推特）留言，希望他們不要冒險，否則很多玩家不會願意花 80 美元買這遊戲，因為會助長價格上漲的風氣。並認為 Pitchford 是開發商執行長，肯定在售價上有一定的發言權。 但對此，Pitchford 卻不認同這說法，回應：「A) 這不是我能決定的。 B) 如果你是真粉絲，你就會想辦法買下它。我在 1991 年時，家裡附近的電玩店有一片 SEGA Genesis（Mega Drive）主機的《星際航艦》（Starflight），售價 80 美元，我才剛剛從高中畢業，在皮斯摩海灘的冰淇淋店打工，領最低的薪資，但我還是想辦法買到了。」 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. — Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 14, 2025 而 Pitchford 的回應卻不被網友們買單，有人嘲諷《邊緣禁地4》80 美元，但玩過這系列的都知道，後面還會推出季票，或是各種造型：「這絕對是近期最糟的執行長回應」、「我等不及看到這款遊戲失敗」、「別用通貨膨脹那一套，我們的薪水可沒有」。 緊貼最新科技資訊、網購優惠，追隨 Yahoo Tech 各大社交平台！ 🎉📱 Tech Facebook： 🎉📱 Tech Instagram： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 社群： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 頻道： 🎉📱 Tech Telegram 頻道：
