Last Friday, Gearbox celebrated our 10th anniversary. We've come a long way and have achieved great things because of the long hours that have been worked by so many great developers and team members over the years. From the small startup working on Opposing Force to the team of over 100 amazing individuals, we've grown and changed throughout the years while maintaining one uniting goal: making great games. It's been a long journey, and we know that the years to come will hold even bigger surprises and success!
Throughout the years, we've had incredible opportunities to work with some of the biggest games in the world, like Half-Life and Halo, and we've also established our own successful series with the highly regarded Brothers in Arms. This flexibility allows us the chance to work with properties that we're huge fans of while continuing to challenge ourselves to create new and innovative worlds - satisfying our passions as enthusiastic fans and as a group of people who are driven to create new worlds and tell our own stories.
I want to give a personal thanks to everyone who has made Gearbox great - everyone in code, administration, art, IT, animation, audio, marketing, HR, QA and focus testing, business, design, production, all our partners and publishers, and all the fans that support us as we continue to work making games. It's a huge effort of coordination and cooperation, and everyone is integral. Congrats on 10 years!
Here are some old photos you guys might enjoy:
Before creating Gearbox, the owners worked at another studio called Rebel Boat Rocker. They moved on to create the company and still with us today are Stephen Bahl and Brian Martel (on the left) and, of course, Randy Pitchford (on the right, yes, that's him).
Shot of the team who worked on porting Halo to the PC early in Gearbox history, standing on the roof of our tower (which, for various reasons, we're no longer allowed to access).
Before our snack rooms were magically restocked by the restocking guys, it had to be done manually. We'd make a trip to CostCo, load up this company station wagon, and then everyone would help unload it together.
Photo from the 5th anniversary at Gearbox - already five years ago now!
From the '04 research visit to Normandy, as Gearbox was developing Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, the first installment in our brand new series. Authenticity is a hallmark of the series that has always separated it from the WWII pack, and we we to great lengths (and distances) to ensure it.
The FTX was a training exercise led by the Colonel in an attempt to teach game developers what real warfare tactics and life are like. GBX employees weathered the oppressive Texas heat to spend time participating in military training over a weekend, getting a feel for how squads operate.
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 release day - team members with their brand new copies at a local electronics store. A huge day in Gearbox history, the launch of a new IP that had so much hard work behind it. Many developers hope to one day have their own successful property, and Gearbox is proud to have achieved that dream.
Gearbox's first game of softball. According to sources, we lost with a final score of about 37 to 2. We still hit the field every year, and even if we're not the best athletes, at least we've got spirit!
A large chunk of Gearbox decided to visit Luby's one day for lunch. This is probably the most epic lunch I've been to here - I'm still surprised we managed to get so many people to come to Luby's.
The mysterious Christmas Wrapper in his/her most outrageous moment. Previously, desks and other office equipment had been wrapped, but this stole the show.
Gearbox's 7th, celebrated in the kitchen on the 10th floor. When I came on in 2005, Gearbox occupied half of the 9th and 10th floors of our building. Today, we span the entirety of the 11th, 12th, and 13th floors. We've gone from just about 40 employees to over 100 in that time, growing to meet the needs of next-gen development and our desire for quality games.
The release party for Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood in late 2005. We rented out Trees (since closed) in the Deep Ellum district of Dallas for a night of celebration for the sequel to the critically acclaimed Road to Hill 30.
Photo from September of 2008, the release party for Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Samba de Amigo. We rented out the huge Palladium Ballroom venue (you could probably fit 5 or 6 of Trees in it) and invited all our friends and fans to celebrate this huge event.
2001's Holiday party, early on in Gearbox's existence.
From the 2008 Holiday party - now a much bigger affair, as you can see. We've come a long way!
These are just a few of the memories many of us have shared at Gearbox, and there will be many more to come - I hope you'll be here to share them with us! To see more photos that we've taken over the years, visit
our photo albums. Thank you for your support and stick around... we've barely begun.
