Randy Pitchford Clarifies $80 Borderlands 4 Comment: 'If You Want the Truth, Here It Is'

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The recent controversy surrounding Randy Pitchford’s remarks about a potential $80 price tag for *Borderlands 4* has gained significant traction online, sparking widespread backlash from fans and prompting rival publishers to enter the conversation. Among them is Devolver Digital, known for its sharp, satirical marketing approach, which quickly seized the opportunity to promote its upcoming title, *Mycopunk*, in response.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, the fire began when Pitchford replied to a fan who expressed concern over the possibility of *Borderlands 4* costing $80. His reply was blunt: “If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.” This comment immediately went viral and ignited a wave of criticism across social media platforms.

Here's how the exchange unfolded:

"Randy, this game better not be 80 dollars. Don't take that risk — a lot of gamers aren't going to pay $80 and feed into this cycle of rising prices. You're the CEO; you have some say with the publisher."

Randy Pitchford responded: “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 took notice and quoted an IGN post covering the story on X (formerly Twitter), promoting *Mycopunk* as a more affordable alternative: “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 himself retweeted the message, adding his own twist: “*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

Unfortunately, the reaction to Pitchford’s comments has been largely negative. One user tweeted, “I am going to pirate *Borderlands 4*,” while another urged him to stop and apologize: “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 fan added, “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.”

As of now, Pitchford has not retracted or apologized for his statements. Instead, he referenced a prior on-stage interview at PAX East where he discussed the pricing dilemma, calling it: “If you want the truth, here it is.”

Pitchford’s PAX East Remarks on Borderlands 4 Pricing

During a panel at PAX East, Pitchford stated he did not yet know the final retail price of *Borderlands 4*, but also refused to rule out an $80 price point:

“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. 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.”

Pitchford continued, explaining the broader philosophy behind pricing decisions:

“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.”

Brand Damage and Fan Sentiment

Some fans and influencers believe Pitchford should have stopped after the PAX East interview rather than fueling the controversy further. Borderlands streamer Moxsy commented, “This was a perfect response and should have been left at this. 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 by this time next year. However, fans of *Borderlands* want the price to be justified because of the ambition, passion, and quality that *BL4* will offer. They want to feel good about their purchase in a franchise they’ve loved for over a decade and support the devs who have made 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.”

Final Thoughts and Upcoming Release

Publisher 2K Games is expected to reveal the official price of *Borderlands 4* when pre-orders launch. The game is scheduled for release on September 12, 2025. While the industry continues to debate the shift toward $80 AAA titles, one thing is clear: consumer perception and brand trust are critical to a successful launch.

In a recent statement, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged the ongoing discussion around game pricing but remained noncommittal on whether the company would adopt the $80 standard across its titles:

“I have said for a long time that we offer enormous value and that that's our job. Of course, we certainly believe that compared to other forms of entertainment, whether that's movie tickets or live events or streaming services, the value for our entertainment that we offer is just astonishing, and it's our goal. It's our job to deliver much more value than what we charge. That's our goal. We think consumers are willing to pay for the very best.”