Borderlands 4 Hates Desktop Gamers
- Borderlands 4 needs powerful PCs (8-core CPU, RTX 2070+), with players reporting crashes and poor optimization.
- Fans criticized $70+ editions and CEO Pitchford’s dismissive comments about affordability.
- Costly deluxe versions and branded tie-ins suggest profit is prioritized over performance.
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Borderlands 4
It’s out now on all major platforms, although PC gamers are already balking at the system requirements and hefty download size. The latest entry into the franchise also requires a minimum of 8 CPU cores to run on PC, which is fast becoming the norm for games made with Unreal Engine 5.
Developed by Gearbox and published by 2K, Borderlands 4 continues the series’ distinctive cel-shaded aesthetic and gratuitous loot drops, but this time it transplants Vault Hunters (the player character) onto a planet called Kairos. There are four interconnected biomes to explore, as well as warring factions and the malevolent Timekeeper to deal with.
“Borderlands 4 brings intense action, four new Vault Hunters, and billions of wild and deadly weapons to an all-new planet ruled by a ruthless tyrant,” the companies said in a press release. “Wield powerful Action Skills, customize your build with deep skill trees, and dominate enemies with dynamic movement abilities to bring down the oppressive Timekeeper’s Order.”
Looter Shooter Party Pooper
Gamers itching to blast the holy whatsit out of alien beasts and enemy gangs might be in for a nasty surprise when it comes to downloading it. On PC at least, it’s a chunky 100GB, and this doesn’t even take into account a day one patch. When asked about this patch on X, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford said it “does a lot” and noted that gamers with older PCs and laptops are out of luck if they want to attempt to run the game.
“The Day 1 patch does a lot! That said, the expectation for using a below min-spec machine should be that the game is unplayable,” he said. “It’s a big, bold, new, seamless world and I’m sorry to say that older hardware may not provide buttery smooth performance for the latest gen AAA games, as has always been the case since the dawn of PC gaming.”
Social media platforms are already being flooded with player complaints about Borderlands 4 running like hot garbage on some systems, even those that should be able to run it okay. This has led to Gearbox having to post an optimization guide on the official Borderlands site to try and get ahead of the issues.
Player reviews on the game’s Steam page have also been less than favorable, with gamers calling out Borderlands 4 for crashing on the start menu, constant stutters, and even worse optimization issues:
“When you quit and restart, it doesn’t close the original instance and it still uses full memory,” said a reviewer with the colorful moniker of Hannibal Lector.
“It feels like Gearbox got dazzled by Unreal Engine 5, slapped on a $70 price tag, and forgot the part where the game is supposed to actually run,” said the equally-colorful Satan Claws.
This Game is For Real Fans Only
Reddit has been especially active with players bemoaning the cost involved in not only buying the game but also being able to afford to run it in the first place. For example, a recommended GPU is a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, which has an RRP of $699 brand new. Even the minimum NVIDIA graphics card is an RTX 2070, which still retails for around $250 despite being released in 2018.
“3080 is a 5 year old card!,” said user veckans in a Steam subreddit about Borderlands 4. “It is almost on the low end for ‘recommended’. What is fucked up is the GPU market. A 5080 should have 20GB VRAM+ and cost no more than $500 but here we are.” (This typically retails for at least $999).
Pitchford is known for being as loud as his shirts, and he really put his foot in it when a fan called him out on pricing Borderlands 4 at, initially, $80.
“If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen,” he posted on X. “My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.”
However, the internet was quick to jump on the CEO not just for his tone deaf comment but also for claiming to pay $80 for a video game in the early nineties – this was soon shown to have been sold at $63.99 at the time. Ironically, adjusted for inflation this price is equal to paying around $150 today, showing that games these days are technically cheaper.
Borderlands 4 is being sold for $69.99, but that’s just the base game. Fans who want more content, including story missions, will have to fork out for either the Deluxe or Super Deluxe version, which cost $99.99 and $129.99 respectively. Gearbox also drew ire from fans in June for selling a Collector’s Edition at $149.99 that doesn’t include the game.
Grab Some Shiny Tat
Fittingly, for a game about hoovering up loot, additional in-game content isn’t the only extra stuff players can get their mitts on. NVIDIA has released a customized Borderlands 4 RTX 5090 (the default version went on sale earlier this year at $1,999), and Voodoo Ranger – a Colorado-based beer company – is selling Borderlands 4 branded booze. This is just its default IPA in a limited edition packaging, but at least there’s a chance to win a copy of the game or an in-game key if you pick up a pack.
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