Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford said 'we will do everything we can' to make it happen.' A Borderlands fan who is terminally ill asked to see Borderlands 4.

Caleb McAlpine is a 37-year old "diehard Borderlands" fan who was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer stage 4. Yesterday, he asked Borderlands 3 Reddit if anyone could assist him in contacting Gearbox developers so he can see Borderlands 4 before the rest of the world.

McAlpine wrote that doctors estimated that he had only seven to twelve months to live. Even if his chemotherapy treatment worked, he still would have less than two year. Is there anyone that knows how to contact Gearbox and ask if it is possible to play the game earlier? He asked. "Long shot but I thought I would give it a try."

Several hours after that, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford posted on X saying he had received McAlpine's blog post. "Caleb is now chatting with me via email, and we're going do everything we can to make this happen," he said.

McAlpine is raising money on GoFundMe for his medical bills, gas to drive to the nearest cancer center an hour away, and food that fits into his liquid diet. As of the date of this article, more than $3,500 had been donated towards his $9,000 goal. "Anything that you can do to help would be much appreciated and more than words could describe," he says.

Gearbox is known to pull strings to honor fans such as McAlpine, even though there is very little information about Borderlands 4 - it was announced earlier this summer with a short video that was more a wink at eager fans than an indication of what to expect.

The studio gave a Borderlands 3 early copy to a 26-year old fan who was dying of cancer in 2019. They also let him name the Trevonator gun he used in the game. In 2011, a Borderlands player asked Gearbox to have Claptrap, the character that was most loved by their late friend, deliver a eulogy. The studio received a touching tribute by the robot, and named the Michael Mamaril non-player character in Borderlands 2 for him.
Around the time I began playing World of Warcraft, I stumbled upon the Shrine of the Fallen Warrior and learned that it was a memorial to Michel Koiter who died during the development of the MMO. I've always admired the effort Blizzard makes to remember its developers and community with in-game memorials. McAlpine might not have an NPC named after him or a gun named for him, but Gearbox's efforts to honor his wish to play Borderlands 4 before the official release date is heartwarming.