Yesterday we reported on the demands Gearbox Software gave G2A that needed to be met if their partnership was to continue. You can read them in detail there, but they wanted several public pledges that G2A would change how things operate on their platform. These pledges were to be made before Bulletstrom: Full Clip Edition launched on Steam, and that window has now passed. Gearbox is now following through on their word and pulling out from their partnership with G2A.
Gearbox partnered with G2A to offer a collector's edition for Bulletstorm, exclusive to G2A. After, several prominent YouTubers, namely TotalBiscuit, declared they would not cover Gearbox games anymore if they kept their partnership with G2A. That led to TotalBiscuit having a discussion with Gearbox's head of publishing, Steve Gibson, which ended up in the list of demands yesterday.
Gibson had this statement for Eurogamer regarding the situation:
As there has been no public movement from G2A by the time Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition launched now on PC, Gearbox Publishing will be doing their part to not directly support a marketplace that did not make the new public commitment to protecting customers and developers requested by Gearbox Publishing. We do not control G2A's marketplace or where they may obtain keys from parties outside of Gearbox Publishing, but we can confirm that today we have begun executing on our extraction process.We have also received word from People Can Fly CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski, who stated that they fully support Gearbox's actions and encourage "G2A to engage in discussions that would lead to making their marketplace customer friendly." People Can Fly is the developer behind Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition.
We have reached out to G2A for comment on this matter and we did yesterday as well. Yesterday they told us they would have a comment on the situation after the weekend.
For those unaware of G2A's reputation, you can read our own editorial on G2A, which details many of their issues.
What do you think of Gearbox's decision? Do you think G2A will follow through? Let us know in the comments below.
