The new Borderlands 2 Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC is the first time in the franchise that players hear the new Claptrap voice actor, Jim Foronda, outside trailers for Borderlands 3. With the replacement of David Eddings, and the controversy surrounding it, as practically common knowledge, many likely accepted the voice acting in the new Borderlands 2 DLC and moved on, but some have pointed out that it seems Claptrap refers to the aforementioned controversy at one point.

For those unaware, the original Claptrap VA, David Eddings, and Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford have publicly shared a few choice words with each other. Eddings says Pitchford wouldn't pay him the standard rate to voice Claptrap in Borderlands 3. while Pitchford says there was a generous offer that Eddings declined. Eddings also accused Pitchford of assault, and Pitchford called Eddings "bitter and disgruntled" for being fired from Gearbox, the Borderlands 2 developer.

Now, in the new Borderlands 2 DLC, players have a sidequest from Claptrap called "Claptocurrency" they can complete. Claptrap is trying to acquire a massive fortune, in a cryptocurrency scheme complete with backstabbing, which itself could be enough, but then the final step of the mission is to "watch this." As seen below, around the 4:40 mark, Claptrap is begging Lilith for his old job back, which some have taken as a shot at Eddings.

Eddings himself, in fact, has referred to this moment as a shot by Pitchford to paint him in a "false light." On the other hand, it's worth pointing out that Pitchford isn't involved in every aspect of development, so it's entirely possible that he is removed from this situation. But for this specific character to have beef with its former boss is hard to not see as shade in light of everything that has happened.

One can hope there's not such a moment in Borderlands 3 because, despite the various controversies involved, it was one of GameStop's most pre-ordered games of E3 2019. And rightfully so, as Borderlands 3 will be the first main installment in the franchise since The Pre-Sequel in 2014, and many would hate to see the new game bog itself down with various controversial remarks.

Borderlands 2 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: The Sixth Axis, Twitter