Gearbox management canceled the six-figure bonuses promised to the state. And it’s not about the coronavirus

Borderlands 3

This information was anonymously confirmed to Kotaku editor Jason Schreier by six people associated with Gearbox.

How to earn money in Gearbox

Salaries of Gearbox employees are small compared to the average market salaries of igrodelov. In the studio, it is customary to compensate these salaries with large bonuses after the release of new projects. Gearbox keeps 60% of the royalties from each released game, but divides the remaining 40% among employees and pays out in the form of quarterly bonuses.

Thanks to this scheme, some Gearbox developers were able to afford new homes in 2012, so big were their premiums after the release of Borderlands 2. Since then, the studio has released two more projects: Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013) and Battleborn (2016). They were not successful, so in the following years the quarterly premiums in Gearbox decreased.

With Borderlands 3 released last September, everything should have been different. The game was predicted to be a financial success even at the production stage (and it eventually sold out “very well,” according to Gearbox management and publisher 2K). Therefore, the developers were promised solid quarterly checks. The longer the work experience in Gearbox, the larger the amount. So the bonuses of some employees could exceed $ 100 thousand.

However, instead of these funds, the team will receive only small cash bonuses. This was announced to her the day before yesterday by the head of Gearbox Randy Pitchford at the general meeting.

How does Pitchford explain it all

Gearbox’s abrupt rejection of impressive bonuses could be explained by the COVID-19 pandemic. But, according to witnesses, the authorities did not even mention the coronavirus.

Randy Pitchford
Pitchford gave the following reasons:

• the creation of Borderlands 3 cost more than expected;
• the game can still become the most financially successful part of the series (the head of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnik, also believes in this), but so far its income is lower than expected. The revenue forecast, according to Pitchford, was “unreasonably overstated”;
• plus, the studio had to increase costs due to the opening of a branch in Quebec.

Note that 2K will not help in this situation. The publisher promised to pay bonuses when Borderlands 3 recoups the budget spent on the basic version of the game and on all DLC. This is about $235 million.

Pitchford himself said that he wants to reward the staff with money from Take-Two’s advance payments for the proceeds of future projects. And here it is worth remembering the scandal associated with the head of Gearbox and these payments. A year ago, Pitchford was accused of embezzling $12 million received from Take-Two. The charges against him were dropped in October after the reconciliation of the plaintiff and the defendant.

Exactly how much Borderlands 3 earned in eight months is unknown. But after its release, the total revenue of the entire franchise reached $ 1 billion.

Also on the topic:

• The head of Gearbox was accused of fraudThe Borderlands series has earned more than $1 billion
• Borderlands 3 was removed from the Epic Games Store before the end of the “mega sale”