What just happened? In a story reminding us that not everything in the gaming world is driven by toxicity or greed, the terminally ill Borderlands fan who asked Gearbox for a chance to play Borderlands 4 early has confirmed his wish was granted.
In October, "diehard Borderlands fan" Caleb McAlpine wrote about his terminal condition on the Borderlands 3 subreddit. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in August. Doctors said he had between seven and twelve months left to live, or up to two years if chemotherapy works in slowing down the disease's progression.
With Borderlands 4 set for release in 2025, McAlpine was worried he may not get to see the next entry in the series he loves. As such, he asked Redditors if anyone could put him in touch with Gearbox to see if he could play the game before launch.
Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford later posted on X that many people had been in contact about McAlpine's request. He confirmed that the pair were chatting via email and that "we're going to do whatever we can to make something happen."
McAlpine posted an update on Reddit earlier this week. Gearbox and Pitchford lived up to their promise, giving the superfan an experience he described as "just awesome."
Just an update, Thank you everyone
byu/Cjmac87 inborderlands3
"Gearbox flew me and a friend down first class the 20th of this month and we got to tour the studio and meet an amazing bunch of people from some of the devs of all of the Borderlands games up to Randy [Pitchford], the CEO," McAlpine wrote. "We got to play what they have for Borderlands 4 so far and it was amazing."
The experience extended beyond playing Borderlands 4 early. Gearbox also put McAlpine and his friend up at the Omni Hotel at The Star, the headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys NFL team. The hotel even gave the pair a VIP tour of the entire facility. "Needless to say me being a Lions fan I got to talk a lot of smack lol," McAlpine wrote.
"I don't know if I will be around when the game comes out but I just want to say thank you to all of you for all of your love and support and for helping in making this happen," he added. "It truly was an amazing experience and it was just awesome."
Gearbox has a history of allowing terminally ill fans to play its games before release. In 2019, Borderlands fan Trevor Eastman posted a message on the official Borderlands Reddit revealing he had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal, stomach, and liver cancer. He'd already tried to see Avengers: Endgame ahead of its release but wasn't successful. He was hoping it would be a different story with Borderlands 3, which at the time was three months from release. Gearbox heard the pleas and Eastman got his wish. Not only did he play an early version of the game, Gearbox also named an item after him: the Trevonator legendary shotgun. Trevor lost his battle with cancer and passed away on October 2, 2019.
There was also the case of Michael Mamaril. After passing away at the age of 22 in 2011, a friend wrote to Gearbox asking that a short eulogy be read by Mamaril's favorite character, Claptrap, in Borderlands 2. Gearbox agreed, and also named one of the game's NPCs after him.
You can support McAlpine in his fight against cancer by contributing to his GoFundMe page. All funds raised will be used to cover medical expenses and other related costs.