The backlash to Randy Pitchford's controversial $80 comment about Borderlands 4 has escalated, with video game publishers joining in to promote their own games. Pitchford has since referred to earlier statements he made about the game's pricing, stating, "If you want the truth, here it is."
Devolver Digital, known for its edgy marketing tactics that often capitalize on trending social media topics, has leveraged Pitchford's comments to promote its upcoming game, Mycopunk. Devolver, the publisher behind games like Hotline Miami and Cult of the Lamb, used the situation to their advantage with a clever tweet.
For those who missed it, Pitchford's initial response to a fan's concern about the $80 price tag for Borderlands 4 was, "if you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen." Here's the exchange:
"Randy, this game better not be 80 dollars. Don't take that risk, a lot 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."
And Pitchford's reply:
"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."
Devolver Digital retweeted IGN's post on X/Twitter to promote Mycopunk, a new Borderlands-style co-op first-person shooter, saying, “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 caught wind of this and retweeted it, humorously adding, “Mycopunk is cheaper than a point of meth - probably has fewer side effects, too!”
Mycopunk is cheaper than a point of meth - probably has fewer side effects, too! https://t.co/ICgEYZ7FEq
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 21, 2025
The response to Pitchford's tweet has been predominantly negative. One X/Twitter user stated, “I am going to pirate Borderlands 4,” while another pleaded, “Please stop. Just apologize and move on. This isn't fair on your developers. If you care about them, just do the right thing dude.” Another user commented, “Randy we are begging you to stop. BL4 had so much hype and it’s being ruined in a day. Let people want to like and support the game and all the amazing people who made it.”
At the time of this article's publication, Pitchford has not retracted his comment or issued an apology. However, he did reference a recent statement he made at PAX East about Borderlands 4's pricing, reiterating, "If you want the truth, here it is."
During a PAX East panel last week, Pitchford admitted that he didn’t know the exact price of Borderlands 4 but didn’t rule out the possibility of it being $80.
"I'll tell you the truth. I don't know. That is the truth. I'll hit it straight on. It's an interesting time,” he said.
"On one level, 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 some folks who don't want to see prices go up, even the ones deciding what the prices are.
"There's other folks accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there's tariffs for the retail packaging. It's getting gnarly out there, you guys. Borderlands 4 has more than twice the development budget than Borderlands 3. More than twice. So the truth is, I don't know what the price is going to be.”
Randy Pitchford's recent comments sparked a backlash online. Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Gett[ttpp]y Images for Lionsgate.Pitchford continued: “Here’s the philosophy we have, whatever the price is: we’re entertainers. Yes, we want to get more resources so we can make bigger and better games. There's a reason why Borderlands 4 is so awesome: it’s because you guys showed up and supported Borderlands 3 and we had the budget. So we could more than double the budget and feel confident in that. And that’s awesome. When the revenue comes in we can spend it to make bigger and better games.
“As artists we want everybody to have it. We want to make it as easy as possible for everybody to enjoy what we’re creating. So it’s a weird thing. The fundamental philosophy is, we want people to buy it so we have the resources to make more, 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. And that’s the philosophy we live by.
“And so we’re going to have the price set soon. It might be the new price that Nintendo and Microsoft have led with. It might be that we stay back. It’s going to be the people at the publishing house that decide that. And if it is cheaper, then maybe we’ll sell you that mini-map that you guys want that we’ll develop later. How bad do you want that? 10 bucks? I’m just kidding… or am I?”
He concluded: “Borderlands is f***ing amazing and it’s worth it.”
Some social media users have suggested that Pitchford's PAX East comments would have been a better initial response, noting that the current backlash is now a significant issue for Borderlands 4's brand ahead of its launch.
"This was a perfect response and should have been left at this," said Borderlands streamer Moxsy. "Your second response is receiving backlash not because of the price of the game but because of the wording. Every game is gonna be 80 dollars by this time next year. However fans of Borderlands want the price to be justified because of the ambition, the passion, and the quality that BL4 will have. They want to feel good about the purchase they are making in a franchise they have loved for more than a decade and support the devs that have had a real impact on their lives. This toxic “not a real fan” mentality is not it and is only hurting the people that want to support the game."
Publisher 2K Games is expected to announce the price of Borderlands 4 when pre-orders go live soon. Borderlands 4 is set to be released on September 12, 2025.
