Frisco-based Gearbox Software, founded in 1999, debuts Borderlands 4 at a red carpet launch in Dallas as Texas’ $5.5 billion gaming industry continues to expand.
DALLAS — Fans packed Gilley’s Dallas late Tuesday night, filling the ballroom like it was a concert venue. But the headliner wasn’t a band — it was for the worldwide release of Borderlands 4.
For Frisco-based Gearbox Software, the red carpet event celebrated six years of development and a franchise that has become one of North Texas’ biggest gaming exports.
Six years in the making
“This is 20% of my career invested in one video game,” Gearbox Entertainment President and CEO Randy Pitchford said. “It’s a huge emotional investment. There’s always nervousness the night before launch — but the critics are already telling us this is the best Borderlands we’ve ever made.”
Pitchford said Borderlands 4 takes players to “an entirely new world on the other side of the galaxy” with a story designed to appeal to longtime fans and new players alike.
“One of the awesomest things we’ve learned is that a third of our players are always new,” he said. “So even though it’s a sequel, we wanted Borderlands 4 to welcome everyone back — and invite first-timers into the universe too.”
He described the game’s distinctive style as “a borderland between weird and cool.”
The game is a classic looter-shooter, a genre Gearbox is responsible for creating, but set in a new open world — making it part firefight, part treasure hunt.
“One of the funnest things about Borderlands is it’s you versus the universe,” Pitchford said. “It’s not just an action game, it’s also an adventure… as you progress, you become more powerful. Enemies that are challenging, areas that are difficult — as you progress, you become a god.”
Staying in Texas
Gearbox was founded in Plano in 1999 and moved its headquarters to Frisco in 2015. The studio has grown from five employees to hundreds, and its most popular title, Borderlands 2, stands as one of the top-50 best-selling video games of all time — helping put North Texas on the map for video game development.
“I raise my family here in Texas. I love the state, and I love North Dallas,” Pitchford said. “We employ hundreds and hundreds of people, making awesome art and entertainment that reaches people all over the world. And we do it right here in Texas.”
Pitchford said the studio’s success is part of a larger story. In the 1990s, North Texas developers helped pioneer the first-person shooter genre with titles like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. Pitchford himself worked on Duke Nukem 3D before founding Gearbox.
“In Dallas, we literally created an entirely new genre of video game,” he said. “That work changed the world of interactive entertainment — and we’re still building on it.”
The Texas Comptroller’s office estimates video game companies generated more than $5.5 billion in statewide economic impact in 2022, directly employing over 9,300 people. That makes Texas the third-largest video game hub in the country, behind only California and Washington.
Pitchford said that growth is noticeable in North Texas.
“Because of our success and the success of others, a lot of interesting people started showing up,” he said. “From esports teams to indie studios, we’re seeing the kind of growth you used to only expect on the West Coast.”
He compared the shift to the film industry, which has also seen talent move from Hollywood to Texas. “There might not be a Silicon Valley for video games,” Pitchford said. “But if there’s going to be, it might happen here in Dallas.”
Looking ahead
Pitchford said thousands of people contributed to Borderlands 4, with most of the work done in Texas.
“When your mission is to create joy and happiness for people, you don’t get to be the judge — the world does,” he said. “The early response tells us we’re on the right track. What success means is we get to keep doing it and we get to do more.”
From its early days in a small Plano office to a packed launch party at Gilley’s, Gearbox’s story mirrors the growth of Texas gaming itself.
“Borderlands created the looter-shooter genre right here in Dallas,” Pitchford said. “And as big as Borderlands 4 is, I think we’re just getting started.”
Great Job & the Team @ WFAA RSS Feed: news Source link for sharing this story.
