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Borderlands 4 was recently confirmed as coming to Nintendo Switch 2, which undoubtedly pleased many a fan to hear. What was not pleasing, however, was a recent comment from Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford regarding the prospect of paying $80 for the game. Nintendo has opened the proverbial floodgates with its increased Switch 2 console and game pricing, it seems, with many studios and publishers following suit. While companies like EA have been charging $70 and more for games for the past few years, consumers are now seeing this price point (and soon $80) as the new norm for AAA studio releases.
When asked about Borderlands 4 possibly costing that much (note that the game’s MSRP hasn’t been revealed yet), this is what Pitchford had to say:
A) Not my call. B) If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 14, 2025
As one might expect, this hasn’t gone over well with most fans. In fairness, I can somewhat see where Pitchford is coming from, specifically regarding the $80 price tag not necessarily being a new thing in the world of video games. However, this is the first time that the industry has made a coordinated effort to standardize $70 and $80 games across the board. Considering there doesn’t seem to be any discernible quality difference that benefits fans in this markup, it’s not going down very well with consumers. To have an industry veteran so flippantly dismiss these concerns doesn’t help matters.
How will fans react to $80 games? It’s likely going to play out on a title-by-title basis, with some “must-haves” surmounting the elevated MSRP and others… maybe not so much. Doom: The Dark Ages launched on May 15 and has had notably low Steam player counts with a price of $69.99. It’s still early days, and there are other factors to consider, but it’s possible that if The Dark Ages doesn’t go on to sell very well, price could be a notable factor. One that people in the industry should perhaps be more mindful of.
Might something similar befall other games like Borderlands 4? We’ll keep you all posted.
Source: Randy Pitchford X Account
