Borderlands 4 was unveiled this week at Gamescom and the looter shooter will be released on steam in contrast to the Epic Games Store (EGS).

Both are controversial Borderlands 3 And Tiny Tina’s Wonderland launched on Epic’s storefront before finally coming to Steam. The platform change was so noticeable that Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford talked about the shift he was reluctant to do.

When he talked about old comments he had made in 2019 Pitchford suggested that EGS could potentially end the Steam monopoly, calling those old thoughts “overly optimistic. It’s a cool lesson for me and anyone who wants to learn from my experience.”

A partnership with EGS is not always a win-win

In the early days of the Epic Games Store, things didn’t always go well when developers released their game exclusively for the platform. The news often led to review bombing, regardless of the length of the exclusivity, and in the worst cases, led to conflicting Player experiences.

While Borderlands 3 And Wonderlanders worked well at Epic, Pitchford admitted that “customers come for the games, not the store.” Gearbox will “continue to support Steam,” which he stressed has been the studio’s policy since Steam launched.

However, he also believes that Valve was practically “gifted” a PC monopoly by the industry and that the company has done “very little” to earn it. He still hopes that Valve will be challenged by other vendors, but also regrets that publishers have been afraid to support competitors.

He hasn’t given up faith in Epic, but believes the developer “needs to prioritize the store and try some new initiatives, while also doubling down on efforts to secure key exclusives. If Epic had successfully leveraged its advantage, that might have been the case. But Epic hasn’t done that.”

“As a developer,” he concludes, “I will continue to maintain a balance between being present to customers and being present where I want to gain the trust and loyalty of customers. As a player, I will be present on all platforms.”