Over the years, Gearbox Software has fostered many talented creators. For example, theBorderlandsseries used Gearbox’s own staff to voice the game’s colorful cast. Although this recruitment has allowed Gearbox to foster in-house talent, it has led tocontroversies with voice actors involving pay.Now, another one of the developer’s major talents is moving on.
In a recent tweet,Borderlands 3composer Raison Varner announced that he would be leaving Gearbox. The composer also doubled as the voice for thebelovedTales from the Borderlandscharacter Loader Botand various enemies from the series. Across his twelve year tenure at Gearbox Software, Varner also worked on titles likeBattlebornandAliens: Colonial Marines.
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According to his announcement, Varner has just finished his last week with Gearbox. He will be moving to Obsidian Entertainment, the developer behindThe Outer Worlds.TheBorderlands 3composer said he was “eager” to start his new job and tackle the new experiences that awaited him. In his Twitter responses, Varner said that he was looking forward to working with the staff at Obsidian.
Although he did not say why he was leaving, Varner’s departure is definitely reasonable. He was at Gearbox for over ten years, and worked on all threeBorderlandsgames. The composer’s talent would likely be in high demand. Specifically, his move to Obsidian, a developer that produces story-based games much like Gearbox’s other offerings, makes a lot of sense. AfterThe Outer Worlds' success,theFallout: New Vegasdeveloper has been recruiting more employees.Moreover, Gearbox has been marred by controversy for its treatment of workers. While Varner did not say anything negative about Gearbox in his statement, a lack of proper compensation for his tireless work might have driven him to leave.
Either way, Twitter responses to Varner’s move were largely positive. Many Gearbox staffers chimed in to thank him for his years of work. Fans and coworkers alike are hoping that the composer is happy at Obsidian, and able to contribute to anew action RPG that rivals his work onBorderlands 3.Hopefully, his departure will drive Gearbox to find and nurture the next generation of game development talent.
