Borderlands 4 Faces Mixed Reception on PC Due to Optimization Woes
The highly anticipated looter-shooter, Borderlands 4, has finally launched, making a splash with record-breaking peak concurrent players for the franchise on Steam. However, this impressive achievement is overshadowed by a wave of negative feedback from PC players, who are reporting widespread performance issues and poor optimization.
At the time of writing, Borderlands 4 holds a 'Mixed' rating on Steam, with only 60% of nearly 7,000 reviews being positive. The criticism appears to vary by region; players from China, for example, have given the game 'mostly negative' reviews, with only 30% positive. In contrast, German players show the highest satisfaction, with 73% positive reviews.
The core of the problem, according to numerous player complaints, is a poorly optimized PC port. Many users are experiencing frequent crashes, significant stuttering, and unacceptably low frame rates, even on powerful hardware. One player, Etiko, shared their frustration, stating, “Switched to low settings and couldn't get 60 FPS on my RX 6900 XT even with FSR.” Other users report even more severe issues, with the game failing to launch past the main menu or not starting at all. These widespread technical difficulties have even earned the game the unfortunate nickname 'Stutterlands' among the community.
A Steam user named Satan Claus encapsulated the frustration, commenting, “Randy Pitchford said fans should have ‘realistic expectations.’ But if ‘realistic expectations’ mean paying $70 for a stuttering mess that crashes every few minutes, all wrapped up with Denuvo protection that further cripples performance, then no thanks. That's not realism, that's laziness pretending to be ambition.”
Despite the technical troubles, not all feedback has been negative. Players who have managed to avoid significant performance problems praise Borderlands 4 for its improved gameplay, expansive open world, reduced reliance on crude humor, a more intuitive user interface, and excellent music. Some lucky players who are not experiencing severe issues suggest ensuring the day-one patch is installed and are already sharing their optimized graphics settings to help others.
In terms of player numbers, Borderlands 4 reached an impressive peak of 207,479 concurrent players on Steam, setting a new franchise record. This surpasses Borderlands 2, which peaked at 124,678 players, and Borderlands 3, which hit 93,820 players (though Borderlands 3's initial Epic Games Store exclusivity likely impacted its Steam launch numbers). This strong player turnout indicates high anticipation for the title, despite its rough technical start.
Borderlands 4 is currently available on PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. A version for the Nintendo Switch 2 is slated to arrive on October 3. While the game boasts a strong core and impressive initial player engagement, the developers will need to address the critical PC performance issues swiftly to prevent long-term damage to its reputation among the player base.
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