Gearbox Boss Responds To Terminally Ill Fan Asking For Early Look At Borderlands 4

A terminally ill and enthusiastic Borderlands fan has gotten a quick response from Gearbox co-founder Randy Pitchford to his plea to get a glimpse of Borderlands 4 early. Caleb McAlpine was recently diagnosed with terminal stage 4 cancer, with doctors estimating he has 12 months to live.

While the Borderlands franchise may have taken a bit of a hit following the flop of a movie based on the video game, players were stoked to see a cryptic teaser trailer for the next installment, Borderlands 4, at Gamescom. The trailer, which lasted about 1.5 minutes, showed what felt like a collision of a fiery planet and an icy planet, culminating in a robotic arm picking up a mask from one of the crash sites. Fans were quick to take to social media to discuss the trailer, with McAlpine more than likely being one of them.

In his post on Reddit, McAlpine stated he was diagnosed in August with “late stage 4 terminal cancer.” He noted that doctors gave him 7-12 months without chemo, with still only less than 2 years if chemo treatment did manage to slow the progression of the cancer. McAlpine then made his plea, “Is there anyone who knows how to get in touch with Gearbox to see if there is a way to play the game early?,” concluding, “Long shot, but thought I would try.”

Shortly after his post on Reddit, Pitchford surprised everyone with a post on his X account, remarking, “Thanks everyone who reached out to point me to this [McAlpine’s Reddit Post link]. Caleb and I are now chatting via e-mail and we’re going to do whatever we can to make something happen.”

The notion of Gearbox delivering a copy of a game early to someone with a terminal illness is not unprecedented. In 2019, the studio gave a 26-year-old fan with terminal cancer an early copy of Borderlands 3. Gearbox also gave the fan the opportunity to name his own gun in the game, the Trevonator. Another Borderlands fan in 2011 asked the studio for a eulogy for a late friend’s favorite character, Claptrap. Gearbox obliged that fan with a tribute from the robot and named the Michael Mamaril NPC in Borderlands 2 after him.

Anyone who would also like to help McAlpine out can donate to his GoFundMe campaign, which is seeking $9,000 “for medical expenses as well as gas due to the cancer center being an hour away.” The Borderlands fan added, “I am also trying to raise funds for cost of supplies and food due to being on a strict full liquid diet for the foreseeable future.” At the time of this writing, the total raised stands at a little over $8,000.