One of 2025's most-anticipated new games, Gearbox Software's latest co-op looter shooter Borderlands 4, has finally launched in many regions on Windows PC, with further arrivals on the platform and on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2 consoles soon to come once the game's launch times all come to pass.
But while the new title is off to a strong start in terms of player count — as I write this, it's on the cusp of breaking past 200K concurrent players on the Steam charts according to SteamDB data — the same can't be said for the reception it's gotten from those who've begun this next Borderlands adventure.
Indeed, in the wake of Borderlands 4's PC launch on Thursday morning, the game plummeted to a concerningly crimson "Mostly Negative" rating on Steam, though it's since risen enough to reach the "Mixed" score. At present, 49% of its 1,819 user reviews are positive, with the rest stamping it with a thumbs down.
This contrasts rather sharply with critics' reviews of the FPS; it currently rests at an 84/100 score on Metacritic, awarding it an overall "Generally Favorable" rating from press and media outlets. Notably, though, the negatives that the majority of those reviews mention are what have led to the game's controversial status on Steam.
The negatives in question are a significant number of performance issues present in the PC version of Borderlands 4, ranging from low framerates, severe framerate drops, and frequent stutters in its open world zones to problems with crashes or even simply opening the game past its main menu.
"None of my friends can get the game to start past the main menu. When you quit and restart, it doesn’t close the original instance, and it still uses full memory," reads one of the top-rated reviews on Steam. "It doesn’t matter how good the game is. AAA devs deserve low reviews on their games until they learn to release working titles. Indie devs release working games, but multi-million dollar companies can’t? Pathetic."
"Terrible, terrible performance. Worst I've ever seen," another player said in their review. "Turned it down to Low graphics presents and couldn't hit 60 FPS, even with FSR upscaling on my RX 6900 XT."
"Unoptimised and horrible. Already refunded as it doesn't run beyond 20-30 fps," stated a third player, bluntly.
The negatives in question are a significant number of performance issues present in the PC version of Borderlands 4, ranging from everything from low framerates, severe framerate drops, and frequent stutters in its open world zones to problems with crashes or even simply opening the game past its main menu.
It's certainly disappointing to hear that so many players are having significant problems trying to get Borderlands 4 to run well on launch day, though if I'm being honest, it's not exactly surprising.
There have been concerns that the game's performance would be lackluster for a long time now — concerns that were born as a result of Borderlands 4's highly remanding PC system requirements, and exacerbated by Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford noting that it would be "unplayable" with any system that didn't fully meet the minimum requirements (sometimes, there's at least a bit of wiggle room).
I'd say the writing has been on the wall for a few months now. However, that doesn't make the state of Borderlands 4 any less frustrating for people who simply want to jump into what seems to be a fantastic game otherwise. Hopefully, the developers at Gearbox are able to patch out its worst issues as soon as possible.
Indeed, most reviewers agree that the gameplay itself is the best we've seen from Borderlands to date, complete with carefully refined controls and movement, quality-of-life improvements such as rechargeable grenades, a seamless open-world map, Vault Hunters with a diverse array of skills ripe for buildcrafting, and a veritable ocean of unique and powerful weapons to hunt for and collect.
I'd say the writing has been on the wall for a few months now, though that doesn't make the state of Borderlands 4 any less frustrating for people that simply want to jump into what seems to be a fantastic game otherwise.
Thus, it's a shame that people are struggling to enjoy Borderlands 4 as it's supposed to be, though at least there's what seems to be an excellent experience waiting for them once Gearbox is able to iron out these problems. I'm probably going to wait for a few patches before I pick it up, myself, but I look forward to embracing the mayhem spreading across Kairos once I do.
Borderlands 4 is available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Nintendo Switch 2, and PS5 for $69.99, though you can actually get the PC version for less thanks to a discount that lowers its price to $60.69 at Loaded (formerly CDKeys). That's nearly a full $10 off, which is quite nice for a brand-new AAA title.
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