Gearbox Software gave G2A an ultimatum to straighten up their ways or the partnership deal for Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition would be off. G2A didn’t respond in time so Gearbox pulled the plug.
Eurogamer is reporting that Gearbox Publishing issued the statement as to why they were severing their ties with G2A, explaining…
“As there has been no public movement from G2A by the time Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition launched now on PC, Gearbox Publishing will be doing their part to not directly support a marketplace that did not make the new public commitment to protecting customers and developers requested by Gearbox Publishing. We do not control G2A’s marketplace or where they may obtain keys from parties outside of Gearbox Publishing, but we can confirm that today we have begun executing on our extraction process”
This whole thing started after TotalBiscuit, a popular YouTuber, said he wouldn’t be covering Gearbox Software games anymore after it was announced that Gearbox would be partnering with G2A in order to sell BulletStorm: Full Clip Edition. Gearbox reached out to TotalBiscuit to ask about his reasoning, and TotalBiscuit explained (and provided links) that G2A has been reportedly engaged in selling fraudulent keys for years. It’s all outlined in a Twitlonger post.
Before cutting ties Gearbox had given G2A an ultimatum; that they would have to publicly acknowledge making some serious changes to their business model before the release of Bulletstorm.
Gearbox not only wanted a public acknowledgment, but they also setup a timetable on when the business model changes would have to take place, giving them set times to make things like the G2A Shield service free instead of a subscription, as well as implementing an API to flag reseller accounts selling fraudulent keys.
G2A didn’t make the public acknowledgment in time and therefore, Gearbox Software cut ties with the company.
Some people thought this was all a publicity stunt to move sales of BulletStorm given that the game hasn’t been receiving a whole lot of press leading up to release.
Of course, a lot of gamers haven’t been fond of Gearbox since the Aliens: Colonial Marines fiasco and Gearbox president Randy Pitchford not willing to take responsibility for misleading gamers.
Additionally, some people still remember that Randy Pitchford decided to sing a song at PAX 2016 taking shots at #GamerGate after gamers came down on him for supporting unethical behavior and cronyism after he defended Anthony Burch – a former Gearbox employee – who publicly admitted to being engaged in corruption.
