Borderlands 4 Boss Blames Players for Game’s Poor Performance

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The launch of *Borderlands 4* hasn’t gone smoothly, as many players are reporting performance problems, especially on computers. Currently, the game has a “Mixed” rating on Steam, which is disappointing for a new, high-profile title in the *Borderlands* series. Over the weekend, discussions about the game have largely focused on issues like freezing, crashes, and poor optimization that PC players are experiencing.

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford responded to criticism regarding the game’s performance by claiming that issues are limited to a small number of players. He asked PC gamers to acknowledge that older computers may not be powerful enough to run a high-quality game like *Borderlands 4*.

We’ve released the minimum and recommended system requirements for the game. While many players have capable hardware – around four years old – Borderlands 4 is a high-end game designed for powerful systems. Just like it won’t run on a PlayStation 4, it needs modern PC hardware to perform well. We aren’t supporting…

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) September 13, 2025

Beginning Friday, Pitchford responded critically to players reporting problems with the game, even making sarcastic remarks towards one commenter who voiced their concerns.

Pitchford challenged developers to create their own game engine, stating he’d be a customer if they succeeded. He criticized current engine developers, implying they lacked the insight and expertise possessed by those benefiting from support and resources provided by leading hardware and tech companies, and the world’s best graphics engine programmers. He added a sarcastic disclaimer to emphasize his point.

In several recent posts, Phil Spencer explained that some problems players were experiencing with the game were due to attempting to play with the highest settings on older computers. His latest post stressed that PC gamers need to understand how their computer’s hardware impacts the game’s performance.

All PC gamers need to understand how their computer’s parts work with the games they’re playing.

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) September 15, 2025

It’s unusual for a game developer to engage with players online after a release, especially to argue with them. While Randy Pitchford did offer some helpful tips, his online behavior was mostly negative – he spent more time criticizing players and downplaying the game’s problems than acknowledging them.

Trying to address complaints this way won’t satisfy unhappy players, and Randy Pitchford’s strong statements could actually make the situation worse. He mentioned on X that customer service received reports about *Borderlands 4* from only 1% of players, and even fewer of those complaints were about PC performance. However, these reports probably don’t show the whole picture. Many players don’t report problems, even serious ones, because they don’t think it will make a difference.

Despite some criticism, *Borderlands 4* has received a generally positive score on Metacritic for PC, although player reviews are much less enthusiastic. The game was designed to fix issues from *Borderlands 3*, such as limiting it to certain platforms. I think it has a lot of potential if the developers can address its current problems. I’m optimistic that the team is more responsive to players than in the past and is working to improve the game. Gearbox has already said they’re listening to feedback about specific features, which is a good sign for the future.

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2025-09-15 21:15