Former Claptrap voice actor and Gearbox employee, David Eddings, has alleged that Gearbox CEO, Randy Pitchford, assaulted him in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis at GDC in 2017. The statement comes as part of a larger disagreement over Eddings absence in Borderlands 3.
The situation began when Eddings – asked by a curious fan on Twitter about whether he’ll be returning as Claptrap – stated that he would not, as “For the first time, I insisted on getting paid for my performance and all of a sudden they couldn’t afford me.” Eddings – alongside several other Gearbox employees – were optioned to voice characters in Gearbox titles, without upfront payment. Eddings served as Vice President of Business Development for 12 years, but left Gearbox in 2017.
In regards to the statement (which also included a reference to the $12 Million Dollar ‘secret bonus’ scandal already circulating the CEO), Randy Pitchford responded with the following:
There was no “force” – He wanted it (and reveled in it). The issue today is that Mr. Eddings is bitter and disgruntled about having been terminated. He was offered 2x scale, he refused. I don’t want him to do it unless he wants to do it, as motivation affects performance.
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 4, 2019
A statement that Mr. Eddings did not take kindly to. “I was fine moving on after Gearbox,” Eddings tweeted, “But when my former boss starts mouthing off about various aspects of my employment including “how highly compensated” I was and how “generous” he is, I feel obligated to correct the record.”
“I had a lot of mixed feelings when asked to reprise the role of Claptrap late last year and eventually realized I was willing to put differences aside and do something cool for Borderlands fans with my friends at Gearbox.”
“I ultimately offered to do it for “free” in exchange for past royalties owed plus an apology for something I’ve never spoken about publicly until now: Randy physically assaulted me in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis at GDC 2017.”
Claptrap and his previous voice actor, David Eddings, side by side.
Eddings continued to state that Pitchford has ‘been on tilt’ for the past few years, and that the former Gearbox employee had to block Pitchford on social media due to stalking at one point. Eddings also brought attention to the fact that Pitchford didn’t respond to his comment regarding the $12 million dollar scandal, and that GEarbox employees are asked to take lower salaries with the promise of royalty shares instead.
The accusation – which Randy Pitchford has yet to respond to at time of writing this article – is just the latest controversy surrounding the CEO. In addition to the previously mentioned $12 million dollar bonus scandal, Pitchford recently lied on stage regarding the presence of microtransactions in Borderlands 3, and attacked Game Informer for calling him out on it.