Gearbox Denies Staff Royalties Despite Borderlands 3 Sales Success
Borderlands 3 was one of the best-selling game of 2019, quickly becoming the 2K’s fastest-selling game ever! However, despite that success, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has now informed developers that they will not receive the royalties which they had been promised by the studio’s management.
Gearbox Developers Have Been Denied Royalties on Borderlands 3
Gearbox’s staff salaries have, for many years, been below the industry average. However, it has typically made up for this by offering staff profit-sharing royalties. Whenever they release a new game, 60% of the sales revenue goes to the company, while 40% goes to staff. When the company’s games perform well, this can mean huge bonuses for staff. Borderlands 2’s success proved extremely lucrative for developers; something which Gearbox has used as an incentive to attract new staff.
For several years, this system hasn’t been quite so lucrative. Flops like Aliens: Colonial Marines and Battleborn meant that staff didn’t make much back. However, with Borderlands 3’s success, staff were expecting this to change dramatically. Indeed, Kotaku reports that some staff were promised six-figure salaries following Borderlands 3’s launch. Unfortunately, in a recent company meeting, Randy Pitchford reportedly told staff that the bonuses would be much less than they were expecting.
According to Pitchford, although Borderlands 3 sold extremely well, the game cost too much to make. Additionally, due to a contract between Gearbox and 2K, the game has to recoup its whole budget before Gearbox receives royalties. This total budget comes to around $235 million, including the game’s DLC. Without further details, it’s impossible to know whether there are good reasons for this announcement or not. However, it has seemingly come as an unpleasant surprise to many Gearbox developers. Kotaku reports that some staff may be considering leaving the studio as a result.
The announcement may also leave a bad taste in the mouths of those who recall that Pitchford himself received a $12 million bonus in 2016; when development first began on Borderlands 3. Details of this bonus emerged following a series of lawsuits between Gearbox and the studio’s former lawyer, Wade Callender. That bonus reportedly came from the 60% of profits which went to the company, but nonetheless provoked widespread criticism.