Borderlands 4 Delays Switch 2 Release; Unreal Engine Optimization Issues Face Other AAA Games
- Borderlands 4 delayed on Switch 2 after heavy criticism of poor optimization on PC and consoles.
- Unreal Engine 5 games struggle with stutters, crashes, and shader issues across multiple AAA releases.
- Backlash grows as Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford and other studios face criticism for poor performance and PR missteps.
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Optimization is For Losers
Following a less-than-ideal release on PC and consoles that saw multiple complaints about abysmal optimization, Borderlands 4’s Switch 2 release has now been delayed. Initially scheduled for Oct. 3, Gearbox has yet to confirm a new date.
Thankfully, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford looks to have calmed down on X for the time being after blasting players for not appreciating how awesome Borderlands 4 is. However, other recent game releases have also seen Unreal Engine-related optimization issues come to light, prompting widespread confusion from gamers as to why AAA studios with huge budgets can’t release properly working games.
These complaints follow comments from Epic CEO, Tim Sweeney, in August at Unreal Fest, who put the blame on developers, not Unreal Engine. “The primary reason why Unreal Engine 5-based games don’t run smoothly on certain PCs or GPUs is the development process,” he said.
“Many developers develop games for high-end hardware, then perform optimization and testing on lower-spec devices in the final stages of development.”
Unreal Engine, Unreal Performance
It might seem like Sweeney is passing the buck, but it’s hard to argue when Borderlands 4 is a textbook example of poor optimization, as multiple player reports have lambasted Gearbox for releasing something that struggles to run even on consoles. However, this isn’t the only recent Unreal Engine 5 powered game that’s come under fire.
The Silent Hill 2 Remake was made using Unreal Engine 5 and reportedly runs well, but the latest entry in the series made in the engine, Silent Hill f, hasn’t fared so well. Released to early access players on Sept. 23 with a wide release on Sept. 25, reports have already come in about optimization issues.
Although the majority of players have praised the game’s atmosphere, others have highlighted framerate drops, stutters, and problems with shaders compiling. Multiple players have also noted that they experience frequent crashes using new NVIDIA 5090 GPUs.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, the remake of MSG 3, released at the end of August to player complaints regarding shader compilation issues and framerate drops, while MindsEye suffered arguably a worse release than Borderlands 4 and subsequently shut down for a “strategic re-release,” which happened to almost zero fanfare on Sept. 2.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, published by 505 Games and developed by Leenzee, released to poor reviews on July 24. This Unreal Engine 5 game drew praise before release for its graphics and setting, but players soon found that the game was subject to frequent crashes, even on higher-end machines.
Leenzee were quick to release patches, but the 1.4 version was found to fake optimization, by clamping resolution to a low amount, despite any changes players made within the actual settings. This was then followed by a so-called “censorship” patch, in which Leenzee bowed to complaints from Chinese players and effectively nuked the game’s plot, by making story-specific characters unkillable.
Randy Pitchford Sure Likes Monster Trucks
Someone who players desperately wanted censoring was the Gearbox CEO, who spent the days after Borderlands 4’s release acting as unhinged tech support on X, which also extended to making mixed metaphors about putting Ferrari engines in monster trucks, and leaf blower motors in monster trucks, and expecting that monster truck to still work like a…that’s right, monster truck.
Given that the vast majority of other X users were replying along the lines of “You are going to single handedly destroy Borderlands’ entire fanbase by being a condescending dickhole,” it’s with some relief to report that Pitchford has seemingly calmed down lately.
Instead, it was up to the official Borderlands X account to relay news concerning the Switch 2 delay: “We do not take this decision lightly, but are committed to ensuring we deliver the best possible experience to our fans, and the game needs additional development and polish time to do that.”
This news was met with plenty of “No kidding,” comments, although “Given how it performs now it would run at either 5 fps on the Switch 2 or turn into a Torgue device that explodes when attempting to run the game,” was deservedly the top reply.
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