Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford stated that Borderlands 4 is "a premium title for premium gamers" when questioned on social media about the game's PC performance issues. Although Pitchford offered some advice on how gamers can optimize Borderlands 4 on their machines, his comments drew criticism from fans over the current state of the game.
Pitchford's comments on social media came just before Borderlands 4 released a PC-exclusive patch to address some outstanding performance issues. The update came just three days after the game's long-awaited launch on multiple platforms. Although Borderlands 4 did not disclose what was changed in the new update, the developers offered some optimization tips for both AMD and Nvidia graphics cards. Users were encouraged to update their AMD or Nvidia graphics drivers to the latest stable versions. Gearbox added that it takes up to 15 minutes for shader compilations to be fully reassembled after any graphics settings are changed.
Borderlands 4 Credits Include a New SHiFT Code Granting Golden Key
The Borderlands 4 credits include one of the rarest types of SHiFT codes: the kind that doesn't come with an expiration date.
Randy Pitchford Pins Some Borderlands 4 Issues On Older Hardware
Although reports of Borderlands 4's problems on Steam have not gone unnoticed, the head of Gearbox weighed in with his thoughts. After offering some tips on how to optimize Borderlands 4, Pitchford said, "Borderlands 4 is a premium game made for premium gamers. Just as Borderlands 4 cannot run on a PlayStation 4, it cannot be expected to run on too-old PC hardware." Pitchford's comments referenced the minimum and recommended PC specification requirements for Borderlands 4, which require a graphics card capable of ray-tracing, an 8-core CPU, and at least 100GB of available SSD storage space. Pitchford stated that, while Gearbox can't stop users from trying to play Borderlands 4 with older hardware, users can refund the game rather than have a degraded gameplay experience.
Pitchford also recommended playing Borderlands 4 at 1440p and utilizing features such as DLSS upscaling to increase frame rates. However, Pitchford's social media comments drew the ire of Borderlands players. Most responses criticized Pitchford and Gearbox for deflecting responsibility for Borderlands 4's optimization and performance issues, while others pinned some of the blame on Unreal Engine 5, the engine used by Borderlands 4. Users also stated that, even on high-end PC components, Borderlands 4' s frame rates remained inconsistent despite Gearbox's recommendations. As of this writing, Borderlands 4 still holds a Mixed review rating on Steam.
Following the September 14 PC patch, Borderlands 4 stated it would continue to gather feedback and provide more optimization updates to address lingering issues. In the meantime, players are encouraged to continue tweaking Borderlands 4's settings to their liking.
Borderlands 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- September 12, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
WHERE TO PLAY
Borderlands 4 brings intense action, badass Vault Hunters, and billions of wild and deadly weapons to an all-new planet ruled by a ruthless tyrant.
Crash into Kairos as one of four new Vault Hunters seeking wealth and glory. Wield powerful Action Skills, customize your build with deep skill trees, and dominate enemies with dynamic movement abilities.
Break free from the oppressive Timekeeper, a ruthless dictator who dominates the masses from on high. Now a world-altering catastrophe threatens his perfect Order, unleashing Mayhem across the planet.
