When Borderlands 4 launched on Steam, it attracted a massive audience of concurrent players, peaking at an impressive 207,479 users. However, this excitement was short-lived as negative reviews started pouring in due to poor performance and crashing issues, leading to a "mixed" user review rating.

The game's PC version faced criticism from players who experienced subpar performance even on high-powered machines. Complaints included crashing, making it difficult for some players to even start the game. A common sentiment echoed through Steam reviews, with many users expressing frustration at the lack of optimization.

Gearbox, the developer behind Borderlands 4, responded by posting a Nvidia Optimization guide on Steam, providing tips and suggestions for achieving better performance and framerates. The guide emphasized the importance of adjusting graphics settings to optimize gameplay, offering expected results for different PC specs.

Optimizing Graphics Settings

For players looking to improve their experience, Gearbox recommended keeping the game running for at least 15 minutes after tweaking settings to ensure shaders recompile properly. This advice aims to prevent players from making hasty judgments about the game's performance based on initial changes.

The guide also provided "Optimal Settings" charts and suggested graphics settings for different GPUs and display resolutions. Additionally, it recommended using Nvidia's newest Game Ready Driver (581.29) and optimizing for each system.

Addressing Performance Complaints

Gearbox and publisher 2K Games will likely prioritize addressing the performance complaints to ensure a positive experience for players. This is especially crucial given the impact negative reviews can have on a game's success.

In an effort to mitigate concerns, Borderlands 4's development chief Randy Pitchford had stated that the Day 1 patch would "do a lot" to address pre-release performance issues. However, he also emphasized that playing the game on older hardware won't magically provide buttery smooth performance.

System Requirements

For those planning to dive into Borderlands 4, it's essential to note the game's system requirements:

  • Minimum:

+ Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

+ OS: Windows 10 / Windows 11

+ Processor: Intel Core i7-9700 / AMD Ryzen 7 2700X

+ Memory: 16 GB RAM

+ Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 / AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT / Intel Arc A580

+ Storage: 100 GB available space

+ Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system. Requires 8 CPU Cores for processor. Requires 8 GB VRAM for graphics. SSD storage required

  • Recommended:

+ Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

+ OS: Windows 10 / Windows 11

+ Processor: Intel Core i7-12700 / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X

+ Memory: 32 GB RAM

+ Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT / Intel Arc B580

+ Storage: 100 GB available space

+ Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system. SSD storage required