Last month, Saber Interactive released the first trailer for its upcoming ride-hailing simulation game, Rideshare Stimulator. As the name suggests, the game revolves around ride-share drivers and appears to be a combination of Crazy Taxi and more realistic taxi simulators, while also incorporating some rather outrageous plotlines and humorous elements. Overall, the game's presentation can only be described as average.
However, the most interesting part of the trailer is a license plate that flashes by briefly. According to the CEO of Saber Interactive, this license plate is actually a direct mockery of Gearbox CEO and co-founder Randy Pitchford, as well as the notorious "USB incident."
As previously reported by Game File, the Rideshare Stimulator trailer features an SUV at approximately the 63-second mark, displaying a Texas license plate. The plate reads "USB," features a gear icon, and includes "DRV."
This is clearly not a coincidence.
Gearbox, the developer of Borderlands, is based in Texas, USA. Back in 2018, Pitchford found himself in controversy after leaving a USB drive at a Medieval Times restaurant.
Allegedly, the USB drive contained a video he described as "barely legal pornography," featuring women who were "only 18 years old." This USB drive later became a key piece of evidence in a lawsuit filed against Gearbox by a former lawyer. The lawsuit was eventually settled in 2019.
However, the incident where Pitchford left a USB drive containing pornographic videos at a restaurant has never truly faded away. To this day, people online still joke about it.
According to Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch, the license plate in the Rideshare Stimulator trailer is indeed a direct reference to this USB incident.
Even more interestingly, Karch stated that this was actually a "retort."
He believes that Pitchford previously mocked Saber and Gearbox's former parent company, Embracer, in Borderlands 4.
In Borderlands 4, players can find a dilapidated location called "Embracer’s Bluff." The area is littered with trash, appearing to deliberately mock Embracer.
Karch believes that this location is satirizing Embracer. Although Embracer has a rather poor reputation in the gaming industry, Karch has consistently defended the company.
When Game File asked if the license plate was referencing Pitchford's USB incident, Karch responded:
“The reason for this is that Randy took a shot at Embracer in Borderlands 4. Without Embracer, Randy might now be making a living by performing magic tricks at birthday parties.”
Kotaku subsequently contacted Gearbox, but the studio declined to comment. Neither Take-Two nor Gearbox has ever confirmed to Kotaku whether "Embracer’s Bluff" in Borderlands 4 was truly referencing Embracer.
Looking back at Embracer's history, the company once launched an unprecedented and now highly controversial expansion campaign, aggressively acquiring numerous game studios. Among them, Saber was acquired by Embracer in 2020, and Gearbox joined Embracer in 2021.
Therefore, the two companies were once "sister studios."
But by the end of 2023, as a massive deal ultimately fell through, Embracer's expansion strategy began to collapse completely. Subsequently, both Saber and Gearbox were sold, causing the two studios to once again separate from Embracer.
Pitchford has publicly criticized Gearbox's former parent company on multiple occasions. He even stated that the story of Borderlands 4—which depicts a mad ruler with absolute power controlling everyone on a planet—was inspired by Gearbox's experience under Embracer.
In an interview, Karch said, "What amazes me is how quickly people can forget those who once put in tremendous effort for them."
