Som adskillige rapporter har indikeret tidligere, så betaler Gearbox Software en mindre grundløn til deres medarbejdere, men til gengæld ansættes de med løftet om at tage del i de royalty-betalinger der kommer efter et givent spil har ramt butikshylderne. Med andre ord får de del i et spils overskud. Men selvom Borderlands 3 er studiets mest succsefulde spil nogensinde, så kunne Randy Pitchford for nylig angiveligt fortælle studiets medarbejdere, at deres bonus ville blive en del mindre end forventet.
Sådan fremgår det i hvert fald i en dybdegående artikel Jason Schreier har skrevet for nylig, som er baseret på samtaler med en række anonyme ansate hos Gearbox, der desuden også slog fast, at Pitchford havde inviteret alle der var utilfredse til at forlade studiet.
Nu fyrer Pitchford igen, og i en række beskeder på Twitter påstår han at artiklen bare profitterer på opmærksomhed.
"The article claims anonymous sources and mentions three only in a sentence that confirms that a meeting took place. Two sources confirming a meeting are the statement from Gearbox and the PR person who delivered it. It's the tabloid narrative that is a lie.
Whatever you read was created by someone who profits from your attention and is rewarded for inspiring outrage that may motivate you to share the story with others. That story is false. The tone and self contradiction of the story betray its purpose - it was designed to profit from your attention. The only people that matter in the discussion is the team of Gearbox. IMO, they are the most talented and employable game developers in the world.
You may ask yourself about the business that website that posted the story is in. In that world, their content is 100% derived from the behavior of others. Outrage is currency."
Kotaku har endnu ikke publiceret en opfølgende rapport.