Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford drew criticism after posting an AI-generated image on May 3, prompting fans’ concerns about how the studio uses the technology.
Pitchford shared the image on X/Twitter, explaining he had asked an AI tool to generate a “selfie” based on how it perceives his interactions.
Pitchford responds to criticism over AI use
“I asked my primary AI tool to generate a selfie that indicates how they feel based on how I interact with it and this is what it generated (note: background words were not prompted and have zero relationship to anything real),” he wrote.
Pitchford said the image was purely intended to be a “dumb, silly thing.”
The post attracted pushback, with users questioning both the intent behind the image and the broader use of generative AI within the games industry.
One user replied: “Normalizing generative AI hurts people in your business. Sure whatever it’s silly, but continuing to feed the machine isn’t it.”
Pitchford pushed back on that criticism, responding: “If you think my tweet is ‘normalizing generative AI’ you’re a fool.”
He also dismissed concerns raised by others, saying: “Don’t make this something it isn’t. It’s just a dumb, silly thing.”
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Some replies went further, raising concerns about whether AI was being used in development at Gearbox Software, particularly following complaints about recent patch notes.
In response, Pitchford said: “Our policy is that we do not use AI for anything in any professional capacity that any customer could ever see.”
He reiterated that position again in later replies, adding that any errors in patch notes were “human error.”
In a follow-up post on May 4, Pitchford said he used ChatGPT as a “search engine” and that the original AI image had been created with the prompt, “Make a picture of yourself as if you worked at my company, Gearbox Software.”
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Pitchford, known for being outspoken, hit back at complaints in 2025 about performance issues with Borderlands 4, telling anyone with complaints to “code your own engine.”
