Borderlands 4 was recently announced at Gamescom 2024, which was an exciting moment for fans of the franchise. This reveal comes hot on the heels of the release of the polarizing Borderlands movie.
But, as it turns out, the biggest news surrounding the game isn’t about how it might make up for the movie’s box office performance—it’s about a massive shift in the way the game is being released, which comes off as a major backtrack on the studio’s part.
Borderlands 4 Is Unexpectedly Releasing in This Store
The Borderlands movie, to say the least, didn’t quite hit the mark for everyone. The film may have left much to be desired, and announcing a new game so close to its underwhelming release might’ve made itself a target for a redemption arc.
Meanwhile Randy Pitchford, the big boss of Gearbox, tried to spin the picture on the movie’s reception. It might not work so well with a different issue that’s come to light since the game’s announcement.
From a track record point of view, my expectation is that Epic’s investment in technology will outpace Valve’s substantially. When we look back at Steam in five or ten years, it may look like a dying store and other, competitive stores, will be the place to be.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 13, 2019
In 2019, Pitchford made some bold claims about the future of digital game distribution, predicting that Epic would outpace Valve and that its platform would become a “dying store” in five to ten years.
You might remember that Borderlands 3 and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands were released as Epic Games Store exclusives, much to the pain of many people who prefer Valve’s platform over any other digital gaming marketplace.
Gearbox's Borderlands 3 and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands were both timed Epic Games Store exclusives.
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) August 20, 2024
Borderlands 4 isn't. Set to launch on PC on Steam and EGS
No comment from 2K regarding the change https://t.co/BnhEfSB4SC
Fast forward to 2024, and the studio has had a quiet change of heart. When Borderlands 4 was revealed at Gamescom, it was also announced that the game would be released on Epic’s and Valve’s platforms.
Social Media Will Not Let Pitchford Forget His Words
X/Twitter is a scary place to be on, especially if you’re the target of a large group of individuals who have some beef to hash out with you.
— Rock solid (@ShitpostRock) August 21, 2024
Ever since the announcement, people have not held back from reminding Pitchford about his poorly aged comments.
There’s little to no doubt about what made the studio go Steam for this release. It continues to be the biggest digital gaming marketplace for PC, and not having your game there seriously hurts visibility.
We’ve seen time and again how PC gamers avoid purchasing titles if they’re not on Valve’s platform.
It remains to be seen whether the game’s publisher, studio or Pitchford himself makes a comment about the change in strategy and why that is. Although, it seems highly unlikely to be addressed.
For them, the best thing would be to stay silent and hope that the attention this issue is getting moves on to the next most controversial thing.
Do you agree with Pitchford’s comments? Why or why not? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
