Update: Gearbox has responded to our request for comment. It continues to refrain from commenting on the $12 million accusation, a reference to a lawsuit from January, which is an 'ongoing investigation'. It has responded to the physical assault allegation with this statement: "Gearbox takes any and all claims of this nature very seriously and we will abstain from commenting on the allegations Dave is making because it is a personnel matter. We appreciate David’s contributions to the Borderlands franchise and have continued to assert we would welcome him back into the mix as the voice of Claptrap and other future opportunities."
Original story: Former Claptrap voice actor David Eddings has accused Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford of physical assault, following a week of controversy regarding his absence in the forthcoming Borderlands 3.
Eddings, a former Gearbox executive who formerly provided Claptrap's voice for no additional pay, explained his absence last week, claiming that the company did not want to pay him following his departure in 2017. Gearbox later issued an official response claiming it "offered him an industry standard rate, but [they] were not able to reach an agreement."
Tensions have since flared, with Pitchford labelling Eddings "bitter and disgruntled" in a Tweet earlier this week. Now Eddings has offered his own missive, claiming that Pitchford physically assaulted him in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis hotel in San Francisco in 2017. He also makes the accusation that Pitchford "siphoned away" $12m of revenue from the Gearbox employee royalty pool.
Here are the Tweets in question:
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.May 7, 2019
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.May 7, 2019
Personally, I think Randy’s been on tilt the last few years. He's not the victim he portrays himself to be. I even blocked him a couple years ago for stalking me on social media. Enough is enough.May 7, 2019
As an aside, seems a bit conspicuous that he chimed in on my salary but didn't mention anything about the $12M of revenue he siphoned away from the employee royalty pool. FYI - GBX employees are asked to take lower salaries with the promise of royalty shares.May 7, 2019
2K says they won't give a statement regarding an ongoing lawsuit but if the allegation is false then it sure seems a lot easier to just deny it since that's the only reason they're mentioned. The whole thing stinks.May 7, 2019
At the time of writing Pitchford (or Gearbox) has yet to respond to Eddings' claims. We've reached out to 2K Games via Australia and the UK for comment on the allegations, as well as Gearbox, and will update if they respond.
