Gearbox dismisses Borderlands 2 talk

By Fred Dutton Published 21 April, 2011

"If we haven't announced it, it doesn't exist."

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has poured water on speculation that a Borderlands 2 reveal is imminent.

Earlier today, a resumé belonging to freelance artist and animator James Mosingois popped up online listing "user interface concepts for Borderlands 2".

However, Pitchford has since told Eurogamer that the CV is just a red herring and no such title currently exists.

"I honestly have no idea who James Mosingois is," he insisted.

"If I had to guess... I know last year - around September or October of last year when we were wrapping up the Clap Trap's New Robot Revolution DLC - we hired some contractors to help us blue sky brainstorm some things that were HUD related (among other things) when we were starting to think about what to do next with the Borderlands franchise.

"It's possible this guy was a subcontractor for one of those groups we were working with. None of that stuff really ended up going anywhere, though.

"I don't mean that as something to suggest the guy isn't any good - I don't even know of him or what he may or may not have done for us. The guy could be the best guy ever for all I know, but I'm just saying we didn't really do anything with what most of that effort produced and we were really just sort of in blue sky mode trying to imagine that aspect of what we were going to do next with the franchise."

Pitchford explained that that sort of process is standard practice at the studio.

"Before anything, whether it's a project, DLC or any creative activity, we tend to wildly brainstorm possibilities and most of the things that we think about and consider and discuss and sketch end up being left behind as ideas form and congeal and materialise into something that clicks and is really worth betting on.

Although it seems an announcement isn't likely any time soon, Pitchford did add that Gearbox had every intention of revisiting the franchise at some point in the future.

"I can tell you that myself and everyone at Gearbox LOVES Borderlands and we have been absolutely thrilled at the reception it's gotten from our customers and the fact that it's sold over four million units now.

"So you can see that we supported the game like mad with lots of great DLC and you can imagine that we're going to want to do a lot of things with Borderlands in the future.

"But we've only announced what we've announced. If we haven't announced it, it doesn't exist.

"Plans and efforts towards the future always exist with a forward looking studio like Gearbox, of course," he continued, "but brainstorming and blue sky research and development should never be allowed to be construed into a customer promise.

"A customer promise should not be made until that promise becomes sufficiently clear and ready and the commitment is there to deliver upon the promise."

The original Borderlands launched on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 back in 2009, claiming an 8/10 from Eurogamer scribe Jim Rossignol.

Gearbox is currently finishing up long-awaited FPS sequel Duke Nukem Forever, which is finally due to hit the shelves on 10th June.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • brseg #1 1 year ago

    damn :(

  • Snake_2011 #2 1 year ago

    hope the Aliens game gets done first.

  • Flying_Pig #3 1 year ago

    :(

  • Pastici #4 1 year ago

    Aww

  • Raiftel #5 1 year ago

    Sad that we probably won't hear anything about Borderlands 2 at E3. But the thing that jumped out to me about this was how generous Pitchford was in his statement. He really went out of his way to explain the situation and clarify any questions people might have about the project. In a world of taciturn, bullet point spouting, developers it's nice to see someone who can answer questions engagingly.

  • coolbritannia #6 1 year ago

    Pitchford is my favourite gaming industry figure, he's straight to the point, doesn't bullshit, and has a great sense of humour. I'm probably a bit gay for him.

  • Harmonica #7 1 year ago

    That's bollocks. Sure, the game isn't going to ship tomorrow but it's pushing it to have people think there's no work gone into Borderlands 2 (as he mentions in the article, there has been thought put into it). A game that well received and commercially viable is getting made. If DNF hadn't arrived they'd be pushing Colonial Marines out the doors and we'd see Borderlands 2 even sooner.
    Edited by Harmonica at 21/04/11 @ 22:00

  • handsonhips101 #8 1 year ago

    Just make it already.

    Borderlands is one of ky favourite games this gen. Well worth more than 8/10. If you ain't bought it yet, do. It's cheap and four player co-op is immense. Taking down the rakk hive with 3 friends is super fun.

  • randompanda #9 1 year ago

    No offence Randy, but if you or someone in your corporation paid this guy to make some concept art - there would be a record of it somewhere.

    You could have at least pretended to have looked for it.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #10 1 year ago

    Borderworlds with multiple planets please!

  • Murton #11 1 year ago

    Pitchford is one of the few industry figures that can be taken seriously. He doesn't bullshit and just tells it how it is. Must admit that I'm disappointed that there's no official work begun on a sequel just yet but kinda glad at the same time. I'd much rather that Borderlands 2 be made in the same fashion as the original with it being Gearbox's sole project at the time, if work had already begun then it would have been running parallel to Duke Nukem and would likely have suffered from not having the best of a great team behind it. Get DNF out the door and then get everyone behind Borderlands 2 to make it the best it can be and those 4 million fans will be more than happy to wait for it.

    Maybe if we work together on a concerted effort we can start a rumour that draw Pitchford into spilling on Colonial Marines? Last word from SEGA is that it's still very much on the cards but still in concept/design stages, which doesn't sound very encouraging seeing that it was originally slated for early 2009

    (edit: typos)
    Edited by Murton at 22/04/11 @ 08:02

  • FWB #12 1 year ago

    Then announce it. Now.
    Edited by FWB at 22/04/11 @ 08:12

  • gooner77 #13 1 year ago

    So many people seem to want borderlands2 announced. Myself included ,let's hope gearbox announce it soon

  • TOOTR #14 1 year ago

    ""A customer promise should not be made until that promise becomes sufficiently clear and ready and the commitment is there to deliver upon the promise." A direct lesson learnt from the gestation period of DNF?

    They may still announce Borderlands2 in E3. I guess they just want to focus on the DNF launch.

    Well that's what I'm hoping anyway.

    /sings 'there ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees'

  • Tryhard #15 1 year ago

    I went Yay to the news it was coming.Now Nay to it not.Shock news though,somone putting something on their CV that isn't fully true.

  • penhalion #16 1 year ago

    "But we've only announced what we've announced. If we haven't announced it, it doesn't exist."

    In that case I'd advise filing chapter 13 early to avoid the rush ;)

  • andy10 #17 1 year ago

    Bluff.

  • EvilDavid #18 1 year ago

    I WANT BORDERLANDS 2 !!!

  • irrational-gaz #19 1 year ago

    Randy Pitchford should spend less time dismissing rumours and spend more time cracking the whip back at the studio. Colonial Marines is now at least a year over due and we haven't even seen a trailer or any gameplay footage yet just a bunch of stills that have been in circulation since the tail end of 2008. Pull your finger out!

  • Nephirion #20 1 year ago

    If I was called Randy I would have to change my second name to Bastard ...

  • Spekingur #21 1 year ago

    They aren't thinking about Borderlands 2? Yeah, right.
    It's probably not even called Borderlands 2 thus he can say that no such title exists. It's probably Borderworlds and very likely has a diffirent in-dev name than Border-something.

  • misinformed #22 1 year ago

    Oh you know this stuff always happens, the anonymous source is normally right. They deny it then 7 days later it gets announced offiicially. So childish.
    Edited by misinformed at 23/04/11 @ 23:45

  • brseg #23 1 year ago

    Yeah, lets hope the silence about B2 is simply to put all attention on Duke. As soon as thats been and gone, news of B2 will appear.
    I hope they aren't banking on the success of Duke to fund projects, cos I dont think its going to do that well...

  • AOFanboi #24 1 year ago

    Why does every good game suddenly need a sequel? Borderlands was great the way it was, let them use the brilliance that birthed that game to something new and exciting.

  • Spekingur #25 1 year ago

    @AOFanboi: It is quite obvious, to me at least, that a game like Borderlands was missing without people realising it was. Thus gamers want more of the same (but with some changes to keep it fresh enough).

  • Blazewamp #26 1 year ago

    good get colonial marines finished before starting anything else :p

  • Harmonica #27 1 year ago

    Colonial Marines, a year? No, this game has been in some form of development for as long as I can remember. Half a decade? I remember seeing shots in mags years and years ago.

    I don't know when they actually planned to release it originally. Needs to get out. Hopefully a future someone reading this comment is thinking 'huh, it came out already what are you on about?'