Randy Pitchford no longer Gearbox Software president
But stays with the company.
Gearbox Software co-founder Randy Pitchford is stepping down as president of the company.
Replacing him in the position is former chief technology officer Steve Jones, while Pitchford remains CEO of The Gearbox Entertainment Company (the holding company of Gearbox Software) and president of Gearbox Studios, which will oversee Gearbox's development of film and television shows.
Jones joined Gearbox in May 1999 (thanks, GiN), working on Half-Life: Opposing Force, implementing a client-server networking model for the Halo PC port, and leading the multiplayer code team for the original Brothers in Arms.
He was then made Technical Director for Borderlands and Borderlands 2, before being appointed chief technology officer in 2016.
In a tweet, Pitchford explained that he will be responsible for "high level creative and business strategy" " while also serving as a "hybrid" chief creative officer where necessary.
Pitchford has had a colourful history as Gearbox Software president, to say the least. He oversaw the development of Aliens: Colonial Marines, which had a tumultuous development cycle that culminated in a lawsuit by players accusing Gearbox and Sega of false advertising by showing deceptive demos.
In 2018 Pitchford was also sued by Gearbox's former legal counsel Wade Callender when Callender himself was sued for allegedly failing to repay a $300k cash loan intended to help finance a new home purchase, as well as additional money borrowed toward personal legal fees. In retaliation, Calendar filed a countersuit, accusing Pitchford of breaching his fiduciary duties "by exploiting Gearbox employees and property to fund [his] private cravings", of pocketing $12m meant for the studio, and of violating various contracts with Callender.
Callender's suit also claimed that the Gearbox CEO owned a USB drive containing a "personal collection of 'underage' pornography", and that Pitchford syphoned off studio profits to throw parties in which "adult men have reportedly exposed themselves to minors".
Both suits were formally dismissed in 2019 by a Dallas County court.
Back to the present, Gearbox Studios is currently working on Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, a Borderlands spinoff game.