Borderlands 4 Faces Performance Issues on PC, Gearbox Responds
Borderlands 4, the latest installment in the popular looter-shooter franchise from Gearbox Software and 2K Games, launched on Steam with high concurrent player numbers but has been met with mixed reviews due to PC performance issues. Players are reporting problems even on high-end hardware, leading to crashing and low frame rates.
Performance Complaints and User Reviews
Despite peaking at over 200,000 concurrent players on Steam on September 11th, Borderlands 4 quickly garnered "mostly negative" reviews related to performance and stability. While the overall rating has since improved to "mixed," many players continue to voice concerns.
Complaints include poor optimization, crashing, and low frame rates even on powerful PCs. Some players are reporting that the game is difficult to even start due to frequent crashes. One negative review stated the game is "not worth buying in its current state unless you have a NASA PC" due to "Terrible optimization."
"Terrible, terrible performance. Worst I've ever seen. Turned it down to Low graphics presets and couldn't hit 60 FPS, even with FSR upscaling on my RX 6900 XT," said another player.
Gearbox's Response and Optimization Guide
In response to the criticism, Gearbox has posted an Nvidia Optimization guide on Steam. The guide provides recommendations for adjusting graphics settings to improve performance and frame rates on PC.
Gearbox acknowledges the early feedback from the community and outlines the "expected results" for the Borderlands 4 PC specs:
- Minimum PC specs - 1080p @ 30FPS with Low Preset settings
- Recommended PC specs - 1440p @ 60FPS with Medium Preset settings
Gearbox advises players to "Please keep playing for at least 15 minutes to see how your PC's performance has changed" after adjusting settings to allow shaders to recompile fully. They also suggest downloading and installing Nvidia's Game Ready Driver (581.29).
Randy Pitchford's Comments and System Requirements
Randy Pitchford, development chief at Gearbox, had previously addressed performance concerns, stating that the Day 1 patch "does a lot." He also noted that players with PCs below the minimum specifications should expect the game to be unplayable. He added that playing new AAA titles on older hardware will naturally lead to compromised performance.
Here are the official Borderlands 4 system requirements:
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 / Windows 11 | Windows 10 / Windows 11 |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-9700 / AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | Intel Core i7-12700 / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM | 32 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 / AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT / Intel Arc A580 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT / Intel Arc B580 |
| Storage | 100 GB available space (SSD required) | 100 GB available space (SSD required) |
Nvidia's Optimized Settings and Community Backlash
2K Games posted Nvidia's optimized settings guide, which suggested that even high-end GPUs like the RTX 5080 might need DLSS and Frame Generation to achieve 60 FPS+ at 1440p resolution. The community response has been largely negative, with many players expressing frustration with the game's performance.
Some players are reporting reasonable frame rates in certain areas, while others are experiencing stuttering and frame drops. Reports of crashing are also common, although a recent patch appears to have mitigated the issue somewhat.
Despite the performance issues, some players are still enjoying the game. However, the overall sentiment is that the performance needs to be improved through future patches.