In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, one of Gearbox Software’s co-founders has confirmed that he witnessed CEO Randy Pitchford assault Claptrap voice actor, David Eddings. According to Landon Montgomery, Eddings approached Pitchford to talk in private and got “shoved hard” out of the blue.
What sparked the row was Eddings finding out at GDC 2017 that someone named Greg Richardson was trying to purchase Gearbox, and apparently, no one knew about it.
“I don’t know anything about this and I’m the VP of Business,” he told Newsweek. When Eddings approached Pitchford to tell him what he had heard, the CEO allegedly demanded that he share his source, which Eddings refused to do. According to the voice actor, his refusal to reveal his source of information infuriated Pitchford.
Interestingly, a recent lawsuit filed against Pitchford by former Gearbox attorney, Wade Callendar, suggests that Pitchford knew about Richardson already, and that the prospective buyer had even helped to raise capital at one point.
Eddings provided Newsweek screenshots of text messages that he exchanged with Pitchford, which show his loyalty being questioned.
“I’m giving you everything without breaking my word,” Eddings texted. “Who the f*** are you loyal to?” Pitchford responded. “Gearbox or some f****** random guy? And what the f*** are they going to lose if they are exposed?”
In later texts, Pitchford called Eddings an idiot for keeping his source a secret, and told him that his priorities are “completely f*****.”
Gearbox has already released a public statement, addressing Eddings’ allegations. However, in a statement to Newsweek, the company expressed its disappointment at the personal feud being made public.
“We think it’s a shame that the 400+ employees here who have poured the love and passion into Borderlands 3 are having their work be diluted by personal allegations,” said the studio.
Pitchford has maintained his silence on the issue since the allegations surfaced. Worth noting that Eddings publicly spoke about the assault after Pitchford called him “bitter” and “disgruntled” for revealing that he was neither paid for his role as Claptrap in Borderlands nor in Telltale’s Tales from the Borderlands.
[Source: Newsweek]
