Matthew Armstrong, creator and franchise director of the first-person shooter series Borderlands, has left his position at developer Gearbox Software.

Armstrong announced the news on Twitter. "Things changed," he said."No longer working at@GearboxSoftware. I will always love Gearbox, but it's adventure time."

Armstrong told Game Informer that he's not quitting out of anger and that he wasn't fired. Instead, Armstrong explained that now that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, the Claptastic Voyage DLC, andBorderlands: The Handsome Collection have all shipped, he found a rare moment where he was "temporarily non-vital," and decided to leave.

"It's just time for new adventures," he said. "I'm an inventor. I'm ready to make something new. Not just new to me, but new to everyone."

Armstrong didn't say where he was headed next.

In February, Gearbox announced that is ready to start working on and is already recruiting a team for the next Borderlands game, which is being made specifically for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (and PC, presumably).

Earlier this week, we found out that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel developer 2K Australia is shutting down, letting go of all of its employees.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/borderlands-creator-leaves-gearbox/1100-6426732/

Starting a new studio?

I'm still sad about that, it sucks when things like that happen. I think in this case, he might have felt the bigger team for Borderlands 3, didn't need him. 

I dont think so, sounds like he was just tired of working on the same franchise, he is just looking to do something new.

Creative people look for new opportunities all the time. It's not unusual for someone in that kind of profession to want something different as opposed to going back to the same IP over and over.

"If you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luck
But if memories were all I sang, I'd rather drive a truck."

Makes me curious about what he had planned, though. Borderlands is a fantastic place to play.

Nothing in the articles suggests that, but I'm under the impression that he lost interest in working on the franchise he started. This probably happened after the franchise got established and he felt that the team that was working under him didn't need his leadership anymore.

Good luck to him and hope his next project is something as good as borderlands.

I'm sure he is leaving on friendly terms, and that the franchise is left in capable hands. Borderlands has become one of my few favorite franchises. Currently playing The Handsome Collection, and eagerly awaiting any news on BL3 (even though I expect it no sooner than late 2017).

To be honest I find it weird how senior directors and designers can work solely on one franchise for more then 5 years, by which time their heads should be exploding with new ideas that deserved to be realised.

"he found a rare moment where he was "temporarily non-vital," and decided to leave."

I guess his input is no longer needed for BL3. I don't really feel concerned about it though. It's not exactly hard to replicate BL's style and they still got the writers and other directors.