Randy Pitchford Steps Down as President of Gearbox Software

Gearbox Software is changing a few things around, most notably who occupies the role of the company’s President. For quite a while now, that role has been occupied by Randy Pitchford.

However, it was revealed today that Randy Pitchford has voluntarily stepped down from his role as President at Gearbox Software and former Chief Technology Officer, Steve Jones, will serve as his replacement.

While Pitchford is no longer president at Gearbox Software, it is worth noting that he remains CEO and President of Gearbox Entertainment, the parent company of Gearbox Software. 

Randy Pitchford Steps Down as President of Gearbox Software

Congratulations to Steve Jones, who I have recently promoted to become President of Software at The Gearbox Entertainment Company. Attached is a diagram of the high level organization chart along with excerpts from my internal staff letter announcing the promotion. pic.twitter.com/4FeX94SIW2

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) October 6, 2021

On social media, Randy Pitchford announced that he’s stepping down as president of Gearbox Software. Not only is he stepping down, he’s already promoted his replacement, Steve Jones.

Talking about the promotion of Steve Jones, Pitchford stated:

“Congratulations to Steve Jones, who I have recently promoted to become President of Software at The Gearbox Entertainment Company. Attached is a diagram of the high level organization chart along with excerpts from my internal staff letter announcing the promotion.” 

The attached diagram shows the CEO and President of Gearbox Entertainment, Randy Pitchford, along with:

• President of Gearbox Publishing: Steve Gibson
• President of Gearbox Software: Steve Jones
• President of Gearbox Studios: Randy Pitchford

The attached letter goes into more detail about the future of Gearbox Software, and how Pitchford will remain CEO and President of Gearbox Entertainment, parent company of Gearbox Software.

The letter, as written by Randy Pitchford, reads as follows: 

“Today at our Quarterly Meeting, I announced that Steve Jones will become the next President of Gearbox Software. For those that have not had the privilege I have had to work directly with Steve for over 20 years, the simplest thing I could say is that he is better than me. 

Steve embodies the Gearbox Entertainment Company’s mission to Entertain the World and he personifies the Gearbox values of Happiness, Creativity and Profit. As President of Gearbox Software, all production and development is now a function of Steve Jones’ leadership. 

But what about Randy, you ask? I will continue to serve as the CEO and President of The Gearbox Entertainment Company. My duty is to be accountable and responsible for high level creative and business strategy as well as interaction between our business units, our executive leadership team, and our headquarters and office functions.” 

Pitchford’s letter then goes on to explain that he will continue to wear a “creative hat” at the company. However, he also makes a good point in stating that if Gearbox only produced products that he likes, they’d be missing out on a lot of other things that other people may enjoy. 

So it sounds like the move to appoint Steve Jones as the new President of Gearbox Software comes from a desire for continued expansion at Gearbox, as Pitchford works on other high level projects, and also to potentially branch out more and create things that appeal to a wider audience. 

Currently, Gearbox has been expanding into film and television, with a Borderlands movie in production featuring actors like Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis, among others.

Other recent news regarding Gearbox includes the announcement of a new studio in Montreal, Canada which will reportedly work on Borderlands games and other new IPs. After hearing about the role change at Gearbox and some of the work going on behind the scenes to expand Gearbox, we’re curious to hear your thoughts.

What do you think is next for Gearbox? Let us know in the comments below, or on our social media channels including Facebook and Twitter!

Related: Gearbox Expanding With a New Studio in Montréal, Will Work on Borderlands and New IPs