It seems that the Borderlands studio is in some majorly hot water, including CEO Randy Pitchford, in a new lawsuit against him from former Gearbox general counsel Wade Callender. In light of the recent allegations surrounding the hording of over $12 million, the studio has issued an official statement calling the allegations “absurd.”
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According to recent reports, Wade Callender is accusing the Gearbox CEO for violating numerous contracts – including his own – while pocketing over $12 million in bonuses. This suit was filed merely one month after the company itself sued Callender for fraud and breach of “fiduciary duty.”
“The allegations made by a disgruntled former employee are absurd, with no basis in reality or law,” said a Gearbox spokesperson in an exclusive statement to Kotaku. “We look forward to addressing this meritless lawsuit in court and have no further comment at this time.”
As far as the nature of the lawsuit goes, Callender claims that Pitchford kept a “personal, secretive ‘Executive Bonus’ of $12,000,000 to be paid directly to Pitchford entity called ‘Pitchford Entertainment Media Magic, LLC.’” That number, according to the suit, was meant to go to the Gearbox staff as a whole as a bonus.
The lawsuit continues, “This is particularly tragic exploitation because these millions are being syphoned to Randy Pitchford’s personal accounts instead of funding the development of Borderlands.”
It was evident that this one would be messy given that the preliminary statement began “Randy Pitchford is a manipulative and morally bankrupt CEO who shamefully exploited his oldest friend, a Texas attorney and military veteran named Wade Callender.
The company itself was founded back in 1999 and has had an incredibly tumultous last few years between a few title misses and reputation hits regarding the illusive Borderlands 3. Where this lawsuit goes from here remains to be seen, but it is one that is filled with damaging accusations that it looks like Gearbox is ready to fight.
You can see the full lawsuit both from Gearbox and Callender right here.
