[GameSpot] - Randy Pitchford Steps Down As Gearbox Software President But That's Only Part Of The Story

[343iBot]

Borderlands developer Gearbox is undergoing some management changes, with Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford leaving that role but staying with the company.

20-year Gearbox veteran Steve Jones is taking over as president of Gearbox Software, while Pitchford will continue to be the CEO and president of the Gearbox Entertainment Company.

Congratulations to Steve Jones, who I have recently promoted to become President of Software at The Gearbox Entertainment Company. Attached is a diagram of the high level organization chart along with excerpts from my internal staff letter announcing the promotion. pic.twitter.com/4FeX94SIW2

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) October 6, 2021

"My duty is to be accountable and responsible for high-level creative and business strategy as well as the interaction between our business units, our executive leadership team, and our headquarters and office location functions," Pitchford said.

Pitchford is also taking on expanded responsibilities for the company's new Gearbox Studios division, which handles transmedia efforts like the Borderlands movie. One of his responsibilities will be to find and hire a President for Gearbox Studios.

The executive also shed some light on why Gearbox does not have a chief creative officer. "This is by design to avoid homogenizing our brands and franchises," Pitchford said. "I believe we can better succeed at our mission to Entertain the World if we promote more diversity in the kinds of entertainment we create over time, so the tastes of one person can be a limiting factor there," Pitchford said.

That being said, Pitchford said it's important to have someone lookin at "creative strategy and creative development," and Pitchford will do this as he puts on a "sort of hybrid CCO-type hat in the areas where it makes sense."

Gearbox Software's next big game is Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, a Borderlands spinoff that releases in March 2022. The Borderlands movie, meanwhile, is expected to premiere in 2022--it features a big cast that includes Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis, just to name a few.

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