Terminally ill Borderlands fan who doesn't know if he "will be around for Borderlands 4" has been able to play the game early: "It was amazing"

A player holding up a mask in the upcoming Xbox Series X game, Borderlands 4. — (Image credit: Gearbox Software)

A terminally ill Borderlands fan has been able to play what Gearbox has made of Borderlands 4 "so far" after being flown out for a studio tour, which he says "was an amazing experience and it was just awesome."

Last month, 37-year-old Caleb McAlpine took to Reddit, sharing that he'd been diagnosed with "late stage 4 terminal cancer" in August with potentially seven to 12 months to live if chemotherapy couldn't slow its progression, and less than two years even if his body responded well to the treatment. "I am a die hard Borderlands fan and don't know if I will be around for Borderlands 4," he said at the time. "Is there anyone that knows how to get in touch with Gearbox to see if there is a way to play the game early?"

Not long after, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford confirmed that "we're going to do whatever we can to make something happen," and thanks to an update post from McAlpine, we now know that it's happened. "So Gearbox flew me and a friend down first class the 20th of this month and we got to tour the studio and meet an amazing bunch of people from some of the devs of all of the Borderlands games up to Randy the CEO," he begins.

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Just an update, Thank you everyone from r/borderlands3

"We got to play what they have for Borderlands 4 so far and it was amazing. I don't know if I will be around when the game comes out but I just want to say thank you to all of you for all of your love and support and for helping in making this happen. It truly was an amazing experience and it was just awesome."

Speaking to GamesRadar+ over email last month, McAlpine told us he'd been "floored" by Pitchford's offer, and said: "I never expected anything like this. It almost felt like a dream to be honest." His GoFundMe campaign to fund his treatment has also seen a huge surge in support since his initial post in October, having now surpassed his goal of $9,000 – it's at $12,255 at the time of writing.

Wrapping up his latest post, McAlpine reiterates how grateful he is: "Thank you everyone."

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I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.