Borderlands 4’s rocky PC performance is under fire, and Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford isn’t making things easier. His recent replies on X, telling unhappy players to “get a refund” and “play a different game,” are stirring up even more frustration.
Borderlands 4 has only been out for a few days, but it’s already causing heated debate, mostly around how it actually runs. The game launched on PC and consoles earlier this month, with a Switch 2 version set for October.
While the looter-shooter action and humor are still very much intact, performance issues, especially on PC, have been stealing the spotlight. Players are complaining about stuttering, shader compilation delays, crashes, and big frame rate drops. Console players have fewer complaints, but even there, missing features like a field-of-view slider and occasional performance hiccups have left people grumbling.
Amid all this, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has taken to his personal X (formerly Twitter) account with a string of blunt responses that, instead of cooling things off, have arguably made the situation worse.
Gearbox Boss Randy Pitchford Tells PC Players to Lower Settings, Use DLSS, or Get a Refund
Pitchford first drew attention earlier this week when he posted that players need to stop being so “4K stubborn.” According to him, Borderlands 4 “looks amazing at 1440p” and trying to max it out at 4K on mid-range hardware just isn’t realistic. “The trade-off for frames isn’t worth it,” he said.
He insisted that Borderlands 4 and Unreal Engine 5 are doing a lot under the hood, and that upscaling tools like NVIDIA DLSS should be used if players want smooth framerates. That advice was already met with eye rolls from fans who expect a $70 blockbuster to run better out of the box. But the follow-up comments have hit even harder.
“Get a Refund” and “Play a Different Game”
Now, in a series of replies on his official X account, Pitchford doubled down with some eye-catching comments. He told players outright that if they’re not willing to use tools like DLSS, they should probably stop playing.
When pressed about poor optimization, he told one user: “Please get a refund from Steam if you aren’t happy with it.”
Another blunt reply read: “The software is the software, and there are options available right now for people who want to play right now to make significant and dramatic trade-offs between FPS, resolution, and graphics features. That’s for people who want to play now. People who want to play later can play later.”
“My advice to users is to accept reality and tune, or not play. We are working more on the software, but the software will not radically change later. However, hardware will get better.”
And on the subject of DLSS, Pitchford was equally firm: “I’m sorry you don’t like being told to use DLSS, but that is the way. If you’re not happy using the tools available to you to improve frame rate, and you’re not happy with the frame rate you have, you should play a different game. The game is awesome, and it is designed to be just fine of an experience at 30 FPS and feel great at 60 FPS.”
It’s not just the technical advice grabbing attention; it’s the way it’s being delivered. When someone accused the game of being “horribly unoptimized,” Pitchford fired back: “You’re wrong, but even if you were right, none of that helps.”
Borderlands 4 Performance Expectations
Pitchford has also set some clear targets for performance. He claims, “[Minimum] spec absolutely plays at 30 FPS. Recommended spec plays at 60 FPS. Good systems with good tuning can go much, much higher.”
A user argued that modern shooters should be aiming for 100+ FPS at 1440p with decent hardware. Pitchford replied that 100+ FPS is important for competitive FPS games, but Borderlands 4 is a campaign-driven PvE game, and Gearbox made “different trade-offs.” With high-end modern hardware, he added, it’s “absolutely possible to get well over 100 FPS” in Borderlands 4.
“Not everyone has the same priorities between frame rate, resolution, and graphics features, which is why we make the options.”
“UE5 is the engine for Borderlands 4. There’s nothing that can change that now. Shader compiling is necessary when you make changes to your graphics settings. I wish it were faster, but it is what it is.”
He even reminded players that patience might save them money: “Your other option is to not play or wait for future updates or newer hardware to come along down the road. The game will probably be cheaper in a couple of years, too.”
Borderlands 4 is breaking series records on Steam, but the conversation around its PC performance isn’t slowing down. There was an update that went out last week, and Gearbox says it’s working to improve in-game performance.
But with the studio head telling people to refund or move on if they won’t use DLSS, fans are questioning how much goodwill is being lost.
For the latest news, guides, and tips, make sure to check out our Borderlands 4 hub.
What do you think of Randy Pitchford’s comments? Are you playing Borderlands 4 right now? Let us know your experience in the comments below!
