Randall S. Pitchford II, better known as Randy Pitchford (born April 21, 1971[1]), is President and CEO of Gearbox Software, which he co-founded in 1999.
Biography[]
Pitchford briefly worked at 3D Realms, where he contributed to Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition and Shadow Warrior. At that time, he started playing multiplayer games under the nickname "DuvalMagic", which he still uses today. He left 3D Realms in May 1997 to work on Prax War (which was never released) at the now defunct video game company Rebel Boat Rocker, for which Gearbox's Stephen Bahl also worked.[2][3]
Randy Pitchford founded Gearbox Software with three others in February 1999. With Gearbox Software, Pitchford directed/designed, co-wrote, produced and/or was executive producer for Half-Life: Opposing Force (for which he received the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences award for best PC Action Game in 2000), Half-Life: Blue Shift, Half-Life: Decay, Half-Life for PlayStation 2, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, James Bond 007: Nightfire, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and Halo: Combat Evolved for PC.[2][3]
In 2005, he served as Co-Director and Executive Producer of Gearbox's original franchise Brothers in Arms.[2]
In 2009, as executive producer, Randy Pitchford launched Borderlands, the fastest-selling new video game brand of the year. In 2020, Randy Pitchford and the Gearbox team accepted three Webby Awards for Borderlands 3, which won for “Best Art Direction,” “Best Game Design,” and “Best User Experience.” He serves as an executive producer for a forthcoming movie adaption of the Borderlands franchise.
In 2010, he reunited with the Duke Nukem franchise as Executive Producer when Gearbox took over development of the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever.[4]
In February 2021, Randy Pitchford led the merger, valued up to $1.3 billion, between Gearbox Software and Embracer Group.
Before becoming a full-time game developer, Randy was a professional magician in Hollywood occasionally performing at the famous Magic Castle between classes at UCLA.
Trivia[]
- In the Opposing Force sound files can be found an apparently unused sound named
dsbossit.wav
that is actually heard during the Gene Worm scene. It is reversed and slower that normal. After some editing, it can be identified as a sentence spoken by Randy Pitchford, saying "To win the game you must kill me, Randy Pitchford." This is a nod to a similar Doom 2 Easter egg made by John Romero.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Randy Pitchford on Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 MobyGames profile
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gearboxcity profile
- ↑ Duke Nukem Forever confirmed! on GamePron
External links[]
- Randy Pitchford on Twitter
- Randy Pitchford on MobyGames
- Randy Pitchford at the Internet Movie Database
Companies | Gearbox Software • Junction Point Studios • Valve Corporation |
---|---|
Production staff | Artists • Character models • Composers • Voice actors • Writers • Other |
Software | Achievements • Compilations • Demos • Games (Half-Life • Multiplayer • Non-canon • Portal • Third-party) • Game Engines • HL HD Pack • Mods |
Other Media | ApertureScience.com • Books (Lab Rat • Raising the Bar) • Fan content (Films • Games • Mods • Series) • Films • Merchandise • Preliminary Findings • Soundtracks (Songs • Composers) • The Final Hours (Half-Life • Half-Life 2 • Half-Life: Alyx • Portal 2) |
Cut content | Prospero • Half-Life Alpha • Half-Life 2 Beta • Half-Life 2: Episode Three • Half-Life 2: Episode Four |
Misc. | Canon • Development (Commentary • Half-Life 2 • Portal • Next Half-Life game) • Mr. Valve • Retcons |