It seems as though noteworthy voice actor from the Borderlands series will indeed not be returning for the franchise’s third entry this fall.
David Eddings, who has previously voiced Borderlands’ most iconic robotic character Claptrap, recently confirmed on Twitter that he will not be reprising the role in Borderlands 3. Eddings has previously voiced Claptrap in Borderlands, Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and Tales from the Borderlands. So yeah, he’s been the voice of the character in every single game up until now.
Eddings said that the reason he wasn’t returning for Borderlands 3 was because of reasons dealing with money. “For the first time, I insisted on getting paid for my performance and all of a sudden they couldn’t afford me,” Eddings said in a response to a fan question on Twitter. “Now I’m not telling them how to run their business but maybe next time they should put the $12M payment from 2K in the Gearbox bank account instead,” he added.
In a subsequent tweet afterward, Eddings seemed to downplay his exit from Gearbox and encouraged fans not to be too upset about it. “In the end, my exit from GBX created at least three job opportunities for other people so that’s a positive.”
Eddings’ departure from the cast of Borderlands 3 coincides with that of Troy Baker, who also won’t be returning to voice the character Rhys. While the reasons of why Baker didn’t return haven’t been exactly clear, if what Eddings purports about money is indeed true, then it’s likely that Gearbox just couldn’t afford or didn’t want to pay Baker. As one of the most sought-after voice actors in the video game industry, the cost to bring in Baker is surely expensive and not having him on the cast would be an easy way to save some money. Still, I’m not sure why Gearbox hasn’t just publicly stated as much already.
Regardless, the departure of these two actors should hopefully not have a huge effect on the final product of Borderlands 3. While characters are important in this world that Gearbox has created, the gameplay loop is a more important thing to get right in my own estimation. As long as the final game is a ton of fun to play, I’m sure many will overlook the absence of Baker and Eddings.
Borderlands 3 will release later this year on September 13 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on the Epic Games Store.
No. For the first time, I insisted on getting paid for my performance and all of a sudden they couldn’t afford me. Now I’m not telling them how to run their business but maybe next time they should put the $12M payment from 2K in the Gearbox bank account instead. Just sayin’…
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 2, 2019
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