Amid Backlash to $80 Borderlands 4 'If You’re a Real Fan' Comment, Randy Pitchford Points to Previous Statement: 'If You Want the Truth, Here It Is'

The backlash to Randy Pitchford’s arguable Borderlands 4 $80 remark has leveled up, with video crippled publishers jumping connected the bandwagon to beforehand their games. Meanwhile, Pitchford himself has pointed to erstwhile comments helium made astir Borderlands 4's price, declaring: "If you privation the truth, present it is."

One specified steadfast is Devolver Digital, which has a estimation for edgy selling that often takes vantage of blistery topics connected societal media. Devolver, which is down the likes of Hotline Miami and Cult of the Lamb, has done conscionable that with Pitchford here.

If you’re precocious to the party, Pitchford sparked a backlash by responding to a instrumentality who expressed interest astir the imaginable of paying $80 for Borderlands 4 by saying: “if you’re a existent fan, you’ll find a mode to marque it happen.”

Here’s the exchange:

"Randy, this crippled amended not beryllium 80 dollars. Don't instrumentality that risk, a batch of gamers aren't gonna wage 80 dollars and provender this conception of changeless summation of the terms tag. You are the CEO, you person immoderate accidental with the terms erstwhile it comes to your publisher."

And here's Randy Pitchford's response:

"A) Not my call. B) If you’re a existent fan, you’ll find a mode to marque it happen. My section crippled store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 successful 1991 erstwhile I was conscionable retired of precocious schoolhouse moving minimum wage astatine an crystal pick parlor successful Pismo Beach and I recovered a mode to marque it happen."

Devolver QT’d IGN’s X / Twitter station connected this communicative to beforehand Mycopunk, its upcoming Borderlands-style mission-based co-op first-person shooter, saying: “You're gonna beryllium capable to bargain Mycopunk for you and 3 of your friends for the terms of 1 transcript of Borderlands 4.”

Pitchford himself caught upwind of the tweet, and QT’d it himself, saying: “Mycopunk is cheaper than a constituent of meth - astir apt has less broadside effects, too!”

Mycopunk is cheaper than a constituent of meth - astir apt has less broadside effects, too! https://t.co/ICgEYZ7FEq

As you’d expect, the effect to that tweet has been mostly negative. “I americium going to pirate Borderlands 4,” said 1 X / Twitter user. “Please stop. Just apologize and determination on. This isn't just connected your developers. If you attraction astir them, conscionable bash the close happening dude,” added another. “Randy we are begging you to stop. BL4 had truthful overmuch hype and it’s being ruined successful a day. Let radical privation to similar and enactment the crippled and each the astonishing radical who made it,” said 1 commenter.

At the clip of this article’s publication, Pitchford has yet to retract his remark oregon apologize for it. But helium did constituent to a caller reply helium gave on-stage astatine PAX East connected Borderlands 4's price, calling it: “If you privation the truth, present it is.”

Last week, during a PAX East panel, Pitchford insisted that helium didn’t cognize the Borderlands 4 terms but refused to regularisation retired $80.

"I'll archer you the truth. I don't know. That is the truth. I'll deed it consecutive on. It's an absorbing time,” helium said.

"On 1 level, we've got a competitory marketplace wherever the radical that marque those choices privation to merchantability arsenic galore units arsenic imaginable and they privation to beryllium cautious astir radical that are price-sensitive. There are immoderate folks who don't privation to spot prices spell up, adjacent the ones deciding what the prices are.

"There's different folks accepting the world that crippled budgets are increasing, and there's tariffs for the retail packaging. It's getting gnarly retired there, you guys. Borderlands 4 has much than doubly the improvement fund than Borderlands 3. More than twice. So the information is, I don't cognize what the terms is going to be.”

Randy Pitchford's caller comments sparked a backlash online. Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Lionsgate.

Pitchford continued: “Here’s the doctrine we have, immoderate the terms is: we’re entertainers. Yes, we privation to get much resources truthful we tin marque bigger and amended games. There's a crushed wherefore Borderlands 4 is truthful awesome: it’s due to the fact that you guys showed up and supported Borderlands 3 and we had the budget. So we could much than treble the fund and consciousness assured successful that. And that’s awesome. When the gross comes successful we tin walk it to marque bigger and amended games.

“As artists we privation everybody to person it. We privation to marque it arsenic casual arsenic imaginable for everybody to bask what we’re creating. So it’s a weird thing. The cardinal doctrine is, we privation radical to bargain it truthful we person the resources to marque more, but we privation everyone who buys and plays a Gearbox crippled to consciousness definite that they got the amended extremity of the bargain, immoderate the terms is that they got the champion value. And that’s the doctrine we unrecorded by.

“And truthful we’re going to person the terms acceptable soon. It mightiness beryllium the caller terms that Nintendo and Microsoft person led with. It mightiness beryllium that we enactment back. It’s going to beryllium the radical astatine the publishing location that determine that. And if it is cheaper, past possibly we’ll merchantability you that mini-map that you guys privation that we’ll make later. How atrocious bash you privation that? 10 bucks? I’m conscionable kidding… oregon americium I?”

He concluded: “Borderlands is f***ing astonishing and it’s worthy it.”

Some societal media users person said Pitchford's PAX East remark would person been worthy pointing to successful the archetypal place, with the backlash present a important marque occupation for Borderlands 4 up of launch.

"This was a cleanable effect and should person been near astatine this," said Borderlands streamer Moxsy. "Your 2nd effect is receiving backlash not due to the fact that of the terms of the crippled but due to the fact that of the wording. Every crippled is gonna beryllium 80 dollars by this clip adjacent year. However fans of Borderlands privation the terms to beryllium justified due to the fact that of the ambition, the passion, and the prime that BL4 volition have. They privation to consciousness bully astir the acquisition they are making successful a franchise they person loved for much than a decennary and enactment the devs that person had a existent interaction connected their lives. This toxic “not a existent fan” mentality is not it and is lone hurting the radical that privation to enactment the game."

Publisher 2K Games is expected to denote the terms of Borderlands 4 erstwhile pre-orders spell unrecorded soon. Borderlands 4 is owed retired September 12, 2025.

In a caller interview, IGN asked Take-Two brag Strauss Zelnick if the institution would spell to $80 for its games. Zelnick wouldn’t accidental either way, but did accidental consumers would beryllium “willing to wage for the precise best.”

“I person said for a agelong clip that we connection tremendous worth and that that's our job,” Zelnick said. “Of course, we surely judge that compared to different forms of entertainment, whether that's movie tickets oregon unrecorded events oregon streaming services, the worth for our amusement that we connection is conscionable astonishing, and it's our job. It's our occupation to present overmuch much worth than what we charge. That's our goal. We deliberation consumers are consenting to wage for the precise best. It's our occupation to marque the precise best.”

Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Lionsgate. Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].