Gearbox Software

Gearbox Software was set up in Texas in February 1999 by five developers who had come from Rebel Boat Rocker: Randy Pitchford, Brian Martel, Stephen Bahl, Landon Montgomery and Rob Heironimus. Pitchford and Martel had worked together at 3D Realms before, and Montgomery had spent time at Bethesda Softworks. Pitchford ran the company until 2021, when Steve Jones took over as president of Gearbox Software and Pitchford moved to head the parent company and its new film and TV arm.

It began with work for Valve's Half-Life: the expansions Opposing Force (1999) and Blue Shift, the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 versions, and work on Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. It then brought console games such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and Halo: Combat Evolved to PC, and made the PC version of James Bond 007: Nightfire for Electronic Arts. In 2005 it launched its first series of its own, Brothers in Arms, published by Ubisoft, with Road to Hill 30 and Earned in Blood; Hell's Highway followed in 2008.

Its second original series, Borderlands, came out in October 2009 through 2K, a Take-Two label, blending first-person shooting and role-playing with procedurally generated loot. It was followed by Borderlands 2 (2012), Borderlands 3 (2019), the spin-off Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and Borderlands 4 (2025). In 2010 Gearbox bought the Duke Nukem rights from 3D Realms and finished Duke Nukem Forever (2011), which critics panned. It acquired Homeworld in 2013, the same year it released Aliens: Colonial Marines, which led to a class action lawsuit.

In 2019 The Gearbox Entertainment Company was created as the parent of Gearbox Software and Gearbox Publishing. Embracer Group bought it in April 2021, and after Embracer's restructuring, Take-Two Interactive announced in March 2024 that it would take over Gearbox; the Gearbox Software deal closed on 12 June 2024. The group now runs as a studio within 2K, based in Frisco, Texas, with further studios in Montreal and Quebec City.