Performance woes plague Borderlands 4 on Xbox as Gearbox considers FOV slider fix

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It’s understandable if you missed the news about Borderlands 4. However, Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox Software, has been going through a very public and difficult time on X (formerly Twitter) recently.

He’s been angrily responding to players complaining about the game’s performance, which is problematic on all kinds of computers, from older models to powerful ones. True to form, he’s avoided taking responsibility for the game’s poor optimization. Instead, he’s blamed the players for having high expectations and suggested they should have spent a lot of money on new computer parts – even though, as many have noted, that doesn’t even guarantee a smooth gaming experience.

Most of the complaints have been from PC gamers, but similar issues are now appearing on Xbox. The question is, how severe are these problems on Xbox?

Memory leaks and brutal frame drops on Xbox

Credit: @IcyAura97 on X (Formerly Twitter) of how bad the performance can get on Xbox.

A clip of Borderlands 4 showing significant performance issues – including stuttering, dropped frames, and even complete freezes during gameplay – has gone viral on X (formerly Twitter), earning over 2,000 likes from user @IcyAura97.

A popular Borderlands content creator, @EpicNNG, shared the clip on Twitter, hoping the game developers would see it and address the problem.

Players are experiencing problems on both the Xbox Series X and S consoles. Performance seems to decrease the more you play, but restarting the game provides a temporary fix.

Players often suspect this problem stems from a memory leak. This occurs when a game uses computer memory but doesn’t free it up when finished, gradually reducing available memory and causing the game to slow down over time.

Restarting the game can offer a quick fix, but some players have also reported that switching to local mode in the lobby settings helps. For a more lasting solution until Gearbox Software releases an official patch, try combining both methods and restarting the game every few hours to improve performance on consoles.

Reviewers at Inside Games have found that Borderlands 4 experiences performance issues on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, including lag, slow loading, blurry textures, and problems with how the game uses memory. This raises concerns about how well the game will run on the new Nintendo Switch 2, as the developers have said it will offer a similar experience to the PS5 and Xbox versions.

Missing features are frustrating Xbox players

One significant problem with the console version of Borderlands 4 is the missing field of view (FOV) slider. The developers are reportedly addressing this, but currently, it makes the game feel much more confined compared to the PC version. The default perspective puts the gun so close to the camera that it feels like you’re constantly aiming down sights, even when simply holding the weapon.

As a gamer, one thing I’ve been really hoping for is a field of view (FOV) slider – so many people have been asking for it! And it sounds like the developers are actually looking into it, which is awesome. Personally, I always disable motion blur in every game I play, and it’s frustrating that this option isn’t here. It really makes a difference, especially when things get chaotic in combat, and makes the game way more comfortable to play.

It’s surprising these features aren’t included, as they’re common in most new shooting games, but we expect they’ll be added soon.

Gearbox is exploring FOV Sliders on Consoles

There’s some good news for console gamers. The official Borderlands 4 X (formerly Twitter) account just posted an announcement:

Hey Vault Hunters! We’ve been listening to your requests for adjustable Field of View (FOV) settings on consoles. Our team is now looking into adding these sliders to the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 versions of the game. We’ll keep listening to your feedback and use it to improve your gaming experience with future updates. Thanks for all your support!

It’s good to see the team finally responding to player requests after Randy Pitchford’s recent outburst on X. A simple acknowledgment that they were listening to feedback and working on improvements would have likely been much better received than his angry response, which probably contributed to the game’s currently mixed reviews on Steam.

Borderlands 4 Deserves Better Than This

This topic has already been discussed quite a bit, so I’ll keep my comments brief. However, combined with Randy Pitchford’s unhelpful response to legitimate concerns about the game’s performance, it leaves a disappointing feeling about what could have been a good, if flawed, experience.

Borderlands 4 is a solid game, but recent decisions by its leadership are hurting the experience. Hopefully, the developers at Gearbox Software will prioritize what players are asking for. It’s encouraging to see them working on features like a field of view slider, and we hope they’ll add an option to turn off motion blur too. Despite its current problems, I hope everyone is still finding some fun in the game.

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2025-09-16 17:14