Several senior Borderlands 3 staffers are leaving Gearbox to start a new project together

A number of senior staff members who worked on Borderlands 3 are leaving Gearbox Software.

According to a report by Axios Gaming, the seven staff had started pre-production work on a new Gearbox project, but will now be leaving the company.

They are reportedly forming a new team to work on an independent project together.

The departing members are:

• Christopher Brock – senior producer
• Keith Schuler – lead mission designer
• Scott Kester – art director
• Paul Sage – creative director
• Chris Strasz – UX / game feel director
• Kevin Penrod – lead character artist

Other staff were informed of the news two weeks ago, with a seventh senior staff member also confirmed to be leaving.

Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford confirmed the news to Axios, stating that the seven staff are leaving “on the best of terms”.

“Before their transition, the group was part of a not-yet-announced pre-production team and their departure will cause minimal disruption in our current plans,” Pitchford added.

“The bulk of our attention at the moment is dedicated to finishing ‘[Tiny Tina’s] Wonderlands, which is on-track.”

Gearbox and 2K officially announced Borderlands spin-off Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands last month. The game is described as a “high-fantasy take on a looter shooter” featuring characters from the Borderlands games.

Wonderlands will include a story-driven co-op campaign for up to four players, as well as repeatable end-game content, according to Gearbox.

The game’s cast includes captain Valentine (Andy Samberg), robot Frette (Wanda Sykes), and Tiny Tina (Ashly Burch), who serves as players’ guide through a “tabletop realm where rules rarely apply” as they seek to defeat the Dragon Lord (Will Arnett).