A report claims that the gearbox bonus is not as big as employees hope, because the production of Borderlands 3 is expensive.
The report on Kotaku states that despite Borderlands 3's success, Gearbox Software employees did not receive the high bonuses as promised.
According to an employee who spoke on the site on condition of anonymity, company management promised to give a "six-figure bonus" after the release of Borderlands 3. However, at a meeting led by company owner Randy Pitchford, employees found that bonuses would be lower than expected due to the expenses incurred by the game. Another reason for the bonus to be less than the promised amount is due to the company's significant growth and sales expectations not meeting expectations.
The report states that one of the expensive factors was the switch from Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal Engine 4, which added extra time to the project. In addition, the game has to compensate not only the budget of the base game (supposedly $ 95 million), but also the budget of all downloadable content before all royalties paid by 2K Games and Take-Two.
Pitchford allegedly told developers at the conference that they were "welcome to quit" if they were not satisfied with the news. He did state, however, that he hoped to receive more money to advance employees with a 2K advance payment from future royalties. The usage fee for all developer games is divided into 60/40. It is said that 60% of the funds will be returned to the company and 40% of the funds will be distributed to employees through quarterly bonuses.
Take-Two said in February that Borderlands 3 had sold nearly 8 million units since its release in September 2019. In the same life cycle, the game ’s user growth is also 50% higher than that of Borderlands 2. The company said at the time that it expects lifetime sales to be the highest record in the series.
When asked to comment, Gearbox told Kotaku that it offers "the most generous royalties bonus system in AAA" and that employees have "have received more than $ 100 million in traditional compensation since the implementation of the royalty system. Royalties bonus. "
“In the most recent pay period, Gearbox ’s talents like the news that Borderlands 3 ’s revenue exceeds the company ’s largest investment in a single video game ever. It ’s now officially a profitable video game, and Gearbox ’s Of people who participated in the royalty bonus system have now received their first royalties from that profit. "
Gearbox went on to provide updates to employees participating in royalties, "to set expectations for the next few quarters."
The report also states that private company Gearbox has been seeking a listing.
The second DLC of Borderlands 3, Love, Guns and Tentacles are now available.
