Randy Pitchford says Borderlands 4's story is inspired by the sale of Gearbox, then glazes over and says it's about where we as individuals want to be on the spectrum of anarchy to fascism

(Image credit: 2K)

We're just a month out from the release of Borderlands 4, and Gearbox CEO/magician Randy Pitchford is hitting the media circuit to tell everyone why you should be very excited for the 30 billion guns it apparently contains.

But it's not all about the heaters. Gearbox has promised that—after the less-than-stellar narrative that propped up Borderlands 3—it's taking the story more seriously this time. Borderlands 4 takes place on a prison planet called Kairos, ruled over by a tyrannical overlord called the Timekeeper who's stuck a bolt into everyone so that he can kill them at will, and also peer through their eyes, should he fancy it.

Which is just like Gearbox, if you think about it(?). In a chat with, uh, Epic Games, Pitchford waxed lyrical about the many guns of Borderlands 4 before shifting gears, saying that when the studio sat down to write the game's story it asked itself, "What’s the zeitgeist of the environment we’re in?"

Specifically, the studio was thinking about its own recent history—its acquisition by the Embracer Group and then its re-sale to Take-Two after the financial floor gave way beneath Embracer's feet. Gearbox went from an independent company to a subsidiary (and then to a subsidiary again).

"There’s this cultural and emotional shift in me, personally, and at the studio," said Pitchford. "What does it mean to trade some autonomy for organization?" So far, so good. "What does it feel like to move up and down the scale between autonomy and being organized or even being controlled?" Okay, maybe straying a little but I'm with you.

A psycho in Borderlands 4 stands ready for battle. — (Image credit: Gearbox)

Then Randy gets a little out over his skis. "On one end of a spectrum you have anarchy, and on the other end of the spectrum you have fascism, totalitarianism, zero freedom. It’s not just about societies—that’s all of us as individuals, to imagine where we want to be on that spectrum and how comfortable we are." Apparently, says Pitchford, "we were going through that as a company."

Which I'm not sure is strictly accurate. I don't think Gearbox was choosing where to stand on the spectrum of anarchy to fascism so much as it was changing corporate ownership, but I suppose I admire Pitchford's gusto. I'll be honest: themes of fascism and totalitarianism feel like Borderlands biting off a little more than it can chew to me, but perhaps I'm being unfair. I guess we'll figure out just what the hell Pitchford is talking about when the game hits next month.

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One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

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