Borderlands 4 launched to an honest crucial reception however a combined response from the broader fan neighborhood. Claiming widespread efficiency points from bugs to poor body charges, many gamers have given the sport strongly adverse evaluations on Steam and have crammed boards with complaints. Whereas developer Gearbox has said that it’s wanting into a number of the points, CEO Randy Pitchford has taken to X to problem assertions that Borderlands 4 is, ultimately, damaged.
Pitchford has revealed a collection of posts that that declare that gamers have unrealistic expectations for body charges. Particularly taking difficulty with gamers who wish to run Borderlands 4 at 4K decision on various kinds of {hardware}, Pitchford discounted those that he referred to as “4K cussed” and inspired folks to strive the sport at 1440p.
“I do know quite a lot of you’re useless set on taking part in at 4k with extremely max settings and utilizing two or three yr outdated {hardware},” he wrote. “You do you, however BL4 and UE5 are doing quite a bit and for me that commerce off for frames is not price it. I play at 1440p with settings tremendous excessive and am tremendous pleased with that commerce off–the recreation appears superb at 1440p. In the event you’re not 4k cussed and simply wish to have a fantastic, enjoyable time with larger perf, please think about working at 1440p decision. In the event you’ve obtained a beast of a video card, you are most likely high quality at 4k. However in case you’re within the center or near min spec, I’d positively suggest making that commerce.”
Pitchford additionally wrote about how he believes gamers to have unrealistic hopes for efficiency from older PC {hardware}; he characterised many complaints as originating from people who find themselves trying to run the sport on several-year-old PC builds. In response to a remark from an individual suggesting Gearbox “construct [Borderlands 4] for the commonest {hardware} within the first place,” for example, Pitchford wrote that “Borderlands 4 is a premium recreation made for premium players.”
“In contrast to on PlayStation and Xbox, we can’t forestall a PC participant with sub-optimal {hardware} for the sport attempt to play it,” he said. “So some attempt to get mad. And a few have precise points we have to repair. And a few must learn the way their PCs work on the excessive finish for this particular recreation in 2025 and use the instruments out there to them to search out the proper steadiness between body fee, decision, and graphics options… In the event you’re attempting to drive a monster truck with a leaf blower’s motor, you are going to be dissatisfied.”
Alongside expressions of irritation and resistance to the complaints, Pitchford additionally shared suggestions for “optimizing” efficiency on PC, together with options for utilizing DLSS and tweaking sure settings. Gearbox itself published a PC trouble-shooting information on Steam to assist gamers navigate potential points or bugs.
Anecdotally, it seems that efficiency points could happen inconsistently, fluctuate throughout even minor adjustments in {hardware}, or usually be tough to nail down. PC Gamer and Digital Foundry, for example, have reported sluggish body charges on native resolutions even on top-of-the-line graphics cards. Benchmarks have, not surprisingly, proven wide variance across hardware and software combinations.
In the event you’re simply diving into Borderlands 4, take a look at our ongoing record of Shift codes you can redeem to seize some cosmetics and objects in your character. As well as, check out our Borderlands 4 class tier record to determine which one’s finest for you.