Another day, another Randy-Pitchford-related Borderlands 3 controversy. As you may have noticed during last week’s big Borderlands 3 reveal, a new voice actor is playing the series’ iconic robot guide Claptrap, and it seems there’s a good reason original Claptrap David Eddings has moved on.

　　When a fan asked Eddings if he’d be returning for Borderlands 3, he tweeted that he was replaced after he “insisted on being paid for my performance.” Eddings was VP of business development for Gearbox from 2005 to 2017, which he was paid for, but apparently, he did all his voicework for free. It’s unfortunate Eddings couldn’t be brought back, but his tweet probably would have been quickly forgotten if Randy Pitchford hadn’t dropped a tweet of his own, insisting the real issue was that Eddings was “disgruntled” over being “terminated.”

　　There was no “force” - He wanted it (and reveled in it). The issue today is that Mr. Eddings is bitter and disgruntled about having been terminated. He was offered 2x scale, he refused. I don’t want him to do it unless he wants to do it, as motivation affects performance.

　　— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 4, 2019

　　This prompted another round of tweets from Eddings, and, well, he unleashed the heavy artillery, accusing Pitchford of physical assault and siphoning money from Gearbox’s company royalty pool…

　　I was fine moving on after Gearbox. But when my former boss starts mouthing off about various aspects of my employment including “how highly compensated” I was and how “generous” he is, I feel obligated to correct the record.

　　— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019

　　I had a lot of mixed feelings when asked to reprise the role of Claptrap late last year and eventually realized I was willing to put differences aside and do something cool for Borderlands fans with my friends at Gearbox.

　　— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019

　　I ultimately offered to do it for “free” in exchange for past royalties owed plus an apology for something I’ve never spoken about publicly until now: Randy physically assaulted me in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis at GDC 2017.

　　— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019

　　As an aside, seems a bit conspicuous that he chimed in on my salary but didn't mention anything about the $12M of revenue he siphoned away from the employee royalty pool. FYI - GBX employees are asked to take lower salaries with the promise of royalty shares.

　　— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019

　　Damning accusations to be sure, although they ought to be approached cautiously, as the assault hasn’t been independently confirmed and the money siphoning charges are the subject of an ongoing lawsuit. Gearbox responded to the assault allegation with the following statement:

　　Gearbox takes any and all claims of this nature very seriously and we will abstain from commenting on the allegations Dave is making because it is a personnel matter. We appreciate David’s contributions to the Borderlands franchise and have continued to assert we would welcome him back into the mix as the voice of Claptrap and other future opportunities.

　　Somehow, I don’t think Gearbox and Eddings will be getting back together any time soon. Also, I’ve said it before, but Pitchford really needs to be put on a Twitter time out. Borderlands 3 looks like a lot of fun, but he’s doing the game no favors.

　　Borderlands 3 hits PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on September 13.