A few months ago, Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox Software, had a chat with German site KGN . However, the interview recently started making its way around the Internet. In it, there seems to be a large focus on Call of Duty.
Odd, Gearbox doesn’t make Call of Duty. But they had the chance. When asked if he’d help make a CoD title, Pitchford mentioned that they have been given the opportunity:
“I did not know what there was to reach there. For me, there are two scenarios in which a project makes sense for Gearbox: First, if there would have been the game without us ever. Or two, when we can contribute to an existing brand something new, a kind of unique perspective and a new approach. But that was not the case here. I think about the people delivering the Call of Duty, which they want, you have to play by the rules of the series. You have to do what is expected of a Call of Duty. In this I see but no real challenge for us. It would strengthen our reputation as a studio no further, it would not be really motivating for our team.”
KGN followed-up the response by asking if they’d make a spin-off. Pitchford responded by bringing up the Brothers in Arms franchise, a WWII era shooter Gearbox developed which focused on historical moments and more realistic firefights.
Gearbox is a studio that puts a lot of heart and soul into their games. Borderlands, for example, is filled with style and backed up by just as much substance. Call of Duty, however, isn’t a project they could get behind with the same level of enthusiasm. That’s why they turned it down. For what it’s worth, Borderlands 2 was nearly perfect and the mere mention of Brothers in Amrs gets my fanboy parts tingling.