Randy Pitchford Responds to Borderlands Review Bombers

By Matt Purslow

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has offered his take on the flood of negative Steam user reviews being posted on Borderlands games, which has occurred in the wake of Borderlands 3 being announced as an Epic Games Store exclusive.

Responding to Gearbox developer Scott Velasquez, who tweeted his feelings on Steam allowing people to misuse the reviews system for protest reasons, Pitchford commented that “this misuse makes me kind of happy about 2k’s decision”, referring to Borderland 3’s publisher’s decision to make the game an Epic Games Store exclusive for the first six months after launch.

He added that the situation “makes me want to reconsider Gearbox Publishing’s current posture on the platform.”

The review bombing campaign is targeting Borderlands 1, 2, and the Pre-Sequel, with reviewers voicing their displeasure over 2K’s decision. But while the volume of negative reviews is significant, Valve’s recently introduced ‘off topic’ system has helped to alleviate the problem. The system automatically ignores sudden increases in review activity and excludes them from the overall score, meaning Borderlands 2 still sits at 90% positive. However, the written reviews themselves can still be seen.

Last week was a big time for Gearbox, with the announcement of Borderlands 3’s release date and its many versions. A listing on the Microsoft store also let slip that Borderlands 3 may support cross-platform co-op, too. And if you were worried about who gets the goodies, don’t worry: co-op players won’t have to fight over loot.

Matt Purslow is IGN UK’s News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.