Gearbox Exec John Vignocchi Leaves Studio

Published: May 27, 2019 11:21 AM /

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borderlands 3 cover art

Over the weekend, Gearbox Executive Producer John Vignocchi announced that he was leaving the studio after less than a year at the company.

Vignocchi made the announcement on his personal Twitter page, where he stated that he was leaving Gearbox for "an absolute dream job at my favorite company in the games industry." He continued, adding,

Working at Gearbox has been an amazing experience that I loved. Steve Gibson and Randy Pitchford really know how to bring out the passion and excellence of all the amazing devs that work there. I know everyone at Gearbox will continue their mission to "entertain the world" with great success. I've got nothing but love and respect for everyone there. Thanks for treating me like a family.
https://twitter.com/JohnVignocchi/status/1132335400834486272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Vignocchi's departure may seem surprising given that he worked at Borderlands developer for less than a year, and one may be quick to assume that he's jumping ship because of the recent drama surrounding CEO Randy Pitchford, who was recently accused of assaulting a former Gearbox executive and siphoning money from employee royalties. Vignocchi appears to be departing on amicable terms (unlike David Eddings among others), however, as Pitchford—who is not known to mince words on Twitter—wished him the best in his new role.

https://twitter.com/DuvalMagic/status/1132447998972235778

Prior to his brief stint at Gearbox, John Vignocchi worked at Disney Interactive Studios from 2009 to 2016 but was let go when Disney shut the studio down. As for his future position, Vignocchi described it as a "once in a lifetime gig", that "8 year old JV is freaking out inside!", and that he's due for a bit of a road trip this week. My money's on Nintendo. Gearbox, meanwhile, will have to soldier on without him as they continue to develop Borderlands 3 for release in September.

What do you think John Vignocchi leaving? What are your thoughts about Gearbox Publishing? Let us know in the comments below!

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Jack Waibel is a writer, dungeon master, and lifelong gamer, with words appearing in EGM and TechRaptor. He’s tapped more land cards than modern science can… More about Jack