Despite a generally positive critical reception, Borderlands 4 has encountered a mixed response from its player community. Many fans have reported widespread performance issues, including bugs and inconsistent frame rates, leading to numerous negative reviews on Steam and extensive forum complaints. While developer Gearbox acknowledged and is investigating some reported problems, CEO Randy Pitchford has publicly challenged claims that Borderlands 4 is fundamentally flawed.
On X, Pitchford published several posts suggesting that players hold “unrealistic expectations” regarding frame rates. He specifically took issue with those attempting to run Borderlands 4 at 4K resolution on older hardware, coining the term “4K stubborn” for such players and recommending they try the game at 1440p instead.
Pitchford explained his perspective: “I know a lot of you are dead set on playing at 4k with ultra max settings and using two or three year old hardware… for me that trade off for frames isn`t worth it. I play at 1440p with settings super high and am super happy with that trade off.” He advised players without high-end graphics cards to consider 1440p for a more enjoyable and higher-performing experience.
He further elaborated that many complaints originate from players using several-year-old PC builds. When confronted with a suggestion to optimize Borderlands 4 for the “most common hardware,” Pitchford asserted that it is “a premium game made for premium gamers.”
Pitchford contrasted PC gaming with consoles, noting, “Unlike on PlayStation and Xbox, we cannot prevent a PC player with sub-optimal hardware for the game try to play it.” He acknowledged that some players face genuine issues requiring fixes but also implied that others need to better understand PC optimization and how to balance frame rate, resolution, and graphics settings. He used the analogy: “If you`re trying to drive a monster truck with a leaf blower`s motor, you`re going to be disappointed.”
Alongside his critical remarks, Pitchford also offered practical advice for PC performance optimization, such as utilizing DLSS and adjusting specific game settings. Gearbox itself supported players by publishing a PC troubleshooting guide on Steam to assist with potential issues and bugs.
However, independent assessments, including those from PC Gamer and Digital Foundry, suggest that performance issues can be inconsistent, hardware-dependent, and challenging to diagnose. Reports indicate sluggish frame rates at native resolutions even on some top-tier graphics cards, and benchmarks confirm a wide variance in performance across different hardware and software configurations.