Borderlands 3: Gearbox CEO Says Former Claptrap Voice Actor is 'Bitter'

Following the official announcement ofBorderlands 3, controversy reared its head whenTroy Baker, the former voice actor for fan-favorite character Rhys, stated that he had not been asked to reprise the role. Pitchford stated that Baker was indeed asked and did not want to return, which Baker denied. Rhys, however, is not the only character whose voice acting has changed, as Claptrap’s voice actor for this third installment is no longer David Eddings either.

When asked if he was returning to the role, Eddings stated, “No. For the first time, I insisted on getting paid for my performance and all of a sudden they couldn’t afford me.” For those not in the know, Eddings was previously the Vice President of Business Development at Gearbox from 2005-2017. It was during this time that Eddings voiced Claptrap in previous entries, but considering Eddings is no longer employed at the company, he alleges that Gearbox was not willing to pay him for his voice-acting performance inBorderlands 3.

It seems that Randy Pitchford, CEO at Gearbox, has a different take on the situation, however. In a thread discussing whether or not Eddings had been paid for his work in previous entries and if he was offered a role inBorderlands 3, Pitchford implies that everything boils down to Eddings being “bitter and disgruntled about having been terminated.”

To be more specific, Pitchford states that Eddings was not forced to do the role of Claptrap during his time at Gearbox, and that he “wanted” it and “reveled” in it. When asked to return, Pitchford states that Edding was offered “2x scale” but did not accept it. With Eddings' iteration of the story being different from Pitchford’s, it doesn’t seem likely the whole truth will ever see the light of day, but in both stories, it all seems to come down toEddings' pay to be Claptrap inBorderlands 3.

While a few voices have changed for the forthcoming threequel, there is one returning and fan-favorite character whose voice remains unchanged.Ashly Burch, who voiced Tiny Tina, is reprising her role and will be seen and heard inBorderlands 3.

Borderlands 3releases August 01, 2025, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.