A bunch of senior developers who worked on Borderlands 3 have left Gearbox to start work on a new project.
According to outlet Axios, seven senior developers have left Gearbox including Senior Producer Christopher Brock, Lead Mission Designer Keith Schuler, Art Director Scott Kester, Creative Director Paul Sage, UX/Game Feel Director Chris Strasz, and Lead Character Artist Kevin Penrod. The departures of these developers was allegedly announced internally two weeks ago.
Related: I Love How LGBTQ+ Borderlands Is
Axios' sources have also stated that all of these senior developers were on the same project that is currently in pre-production. Gearbox has allegedly moved new developers onto the project, and the senior developers that have left have all gone on to work on the same independent project together, although there's no news on what that project might be.
Thankfully, the departures don't seem to have ruined any of Gearbox's current projects and the developers have left without any bad blood between them and managment. Speaking with Axios, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has explained that the group is leaving Gearbox on "the best of terms" and that development on Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is still "on-track."
Another of Axios' sources has also claimed that Gearbox is excited to now be able to hire "fresh blood" having now lost a number of senior developers. Not all departures are beneficial to all parties, but it seems like Gearbox and the developers leaving have settled things amicably.
Next year is likely going to be big for Gearbox and the Borderlands franchise as a whole. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands was revealed during E3 and is still on track according to Pitchford. The game doesn't have a release date just yet but is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
And then there's the Borderlands movie which is also expected to release at some point next year, according to IMDB. The film has a number of high-profile actors such as Kevin Hart, Cate Blanchett, and Jamie Lee Curtis, and is a brand new story set in the Borderlands universe, although the film isn't canon. You can learn more about the film by reading our handy guide here.
