Randy Pitchford is no longer the president of Gearbox Software

By Jess Reyes October 7, 2021

Randy Pitchford isn’t Gearbox Software’s President anymore. In the company’s recent quarterly meeting, he announced that former Chief Technical Officer Steve Jones will take over as the new President. Jones now leads all production and development related to Gearbox Software.

Pitchford isn’t leaving Gearbox, though. In fact, he’s still CEO of the overarching company. In his announcement tweet, Pitchford explained that he’s still serving as President of Gearbox Studios, which handles film and television (like the Borderlands movie) related to Gearbox properties. Gearbox will still have access to his “experience and institutional knowledge” of the company’s brand and franchises.

His new role combines his business acumen and creative abilities in one. If you can even call it a new role, that is. In his own words, “If you are working with me on any creative level, nothing will change.”

The announcement tweet includes the internal staff email about Jones’ promotion along with a diagram of the leadership pyramid. Pitchford still sits at the top as the CEO and President of Gearbox Entertainment Company. Jones is listed as the President of Gearbox Software, which is a branch underneath the parent company. Steve Gibson, who was promoted to CEO of Gearbox Publishing in 2019, is at a similar level.

So nobody is really replacing Pitchford. He’s just not in charge of Gearbox Software anymore. That’s all Jones.

Jones has over 22 years of experience working for Gearbox Software on projects like Half-Life: Opposing Force, Halo for PC, and Brothers in Arms. He also served as a technical director for the first two Borderlands games. As President of Gearbox Software, he will oversee the production and development of Gearbox Software’s major titles. For example, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is likely on that list.

“The simplest thing I could say is that he’s better than me,” Pitchford said of his fellow CEO.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Jessica Reyes is a freelance writer who specializes in anime-centric and trending topics. Her work can be found in Looper…

Gaming

Best PS5 SSD deals: Add more storage to your PS5 from $120

A 2TB WD Black

When the PlayStation 5 was originally released, it had the option to expand its internal memory, which was quite small at the time at a little under 900GBs. Of course, the issue is that there weren't any SSDs that worked on the new standard the PS5 was using, so even if you wanted to upgrade, you couldn't. Luckily, since then, there have been a lot of great SSDs for the PS5 that have been released, and upgrading its storage is pretty easy and can be done by pretty much anybody, provided they have a screwdriver. So, whether you picked up a PS5 from one of the PS5 deals or already have a PS5 and want to upgrade, be sure to check out the SSDs that will work great for your PS5 below.
Our favorite PS5 SSD deal

It wasn't that long ago that you'd have to pay well over $100 to get an SSD for your PS5, and often, it'd be slower than the pricier alternatives. These days, you can buy a Samsung 980 Pro 1TB SSD with heatsink for just $120 from Best Buy, thereby saving $45 off the regular price of $165. The SSD offers speedy performance while also having its own nickel-coated high-end controller to help deliver effective thermal control. It means it won't overheat and performance won't be compromised. Being a PCIe Gen 4 SSD, you get twice the data transfer speed of PCIe Gen 3 which is useful. Offering maximum read speeds of 7,000 megabytes per second, it's a good upgrade to go alongside your existing hard drive with 1TB offering plenty of extra space at a shrewd price.

Gaming

The Sims 5: release date speculation, trailers, gameplay, and more

sims 4 for rent expansion pack shared living the 6

It's time to brush up on your Simlish if it's rusty because the long-awaited The Sims 5, aka Project Rene, is officially on the way. This has been the longest gap between main entries since the series began, and while we did get tons of expansions for The Sims 4 to hold us over, plus the change to it becoming free to play, we're more than ready for a new entry. Each time a new game in the franchise comes out, die-hard fans always need to have a bit of skepticism about what features will be there -- both new and returning.

We can't answer all your questions yet, but here's everything we know about The Sims 5.
Release date speculation

Gaming

VR headset deals: Meta Quest 2 and VIVE XR

htc vive vs pro headphones

While VR may not be as big as was predicted back in the early 2000s when the original Oculus Go was released, there is still a considerable market these days, and some great VR games like Half-Life: Alyx that you can have fun with. Of course, VR headsets remain expensive, and while options like the Meta Quest don't necessarily require a high-end gaming PC, they can still be a bit pricey for those who just want to put a foot in the hobby. Luckily, there are some good deals you can take advantage of, even on some of the best VR headsets, so be sure to check out all your options below.
Meta Quest 2 -- $199, was $200

Even though the Meta Quest 3 came out quite recently, the Meta Quest 2 is still a pretty powerful contender, especially since it has a wider library and app support than the Quest 3 currently has. Even more so, the Quest 2 is a lot cheaper than the Quest 3, and with the latest permanent discount down to just $200, that's a whole $300 or so difference from the Quest 3. Of course, the Quest 3 does have more advanced AR and slightly better performance with software and Wi-Fi, but that may not be worth the extra cost for some. Either way, be sure to check out the breakdown between Quest 2 and Quest 3 to get a better sense of what you should pick up.