Original Claptrap voice actor claims Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford assaulted him
David Eddings, Gearbox's former vice president of licensing and the original Claptrap voice actor, has published his account on some of his time at the studio.
Eddings recently revealed turning down an opportunity to voice Claptrap in Borderlands 3 when he learned he won't be offered royalties for past work.
"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," Eddings told his Twitter followers.
"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."
The incident, according to Eddings, is Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford assaulting him in 2017. "Randy physically assaulted me in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis at GDC 2017," Eddings revealed.
Though he did not elaborate further, he did share an unfavourable opinion of his former boss. "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.
"It's nice not feeling the need to spot any sleight of hand these days or wonder if the card was chosen or forced. I'm happy to be free from the half-truths and full-on deceptions. And thankful to no longer hear people referred to as 'muggles' like a con-man refers to a 'mark'."
Eddings started the Twitter thread in response to Pitchford's tweet calling him "bitter and disgruntled", noting that fans shouldn't blame the team at Gearbox for the CEO's antics.
Gearbox Software has since issued a statement on the allegations made by Eddings.
"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 that we would welcome him back into the mix as the voice of Claptrap and other future opportunities."
Earlier this week, Pitchford went on a bit of Twitter tirade on what he believes was miss-characterisation of his statement at the Borderlands 3 gameplay reveal event regarding microtransactions in the game.