Borderlands 4 Launch Marred by performance Issues, Sparks Community Backlash
February 22, 2024 – The launch of Borderlands 4 has been plagued by widespread reports of performance problems, including fluctuating frame rates and crashes, fueling meaningful anger within the gaming community. gearbox head Randy Pitchford‘s response, defending the game’s demanding specifications, has further inflamed the situation.
Pitchford addressed the concerns on X (formerly Twitter), characterizing Borderlands 4 as a “premium game for premium players.” He asserted that many attempting to run the title lacked sufficiently powerful hardware,drawing a comparison to trying to move a monster truck with leaf blowers. Pitchford stated the Unreal Engine 5-based game was not designed for lower-end systems and suggested players struggling with performance target 1440p resolution rather of 4K.
The statement drew immediate criticism. Users on X reported experiencing issues even with high-end GPUs like the RTX 3060 and 4060 at 1080p, while others with top-tier rigs featuring RTX 5090 cards and Ryzen 9 800X3D CPUs reported failing to consistently achieve 120 fps, even with DLSS and Frame Generation enabled. Pitchford’s concluding advice – to utilize the Steam refund option if their PC couldn’t handle the game – was widely perceived as unhelpful.
