Borderlands 4 maker says your old PC hardware is to blame for the game’s poor performance – even though it struggles to run on an RTX 5090

2 hours ago 10

(Image credit: 2K)

Gearbox Software CEO, Randy Pitchford, shares another controversial take on Borderlands 4
Pitchford says suggests performance issues are due to old PC hardware, rather than game optimization
States that Borderlands 4 is a 'premium game' made for 'premium gamers'

I can't say I'm surprised, considering the pattern of Unreal Engine 5 games and their poor optimization and performance, but Borderlands 4 is another disaster for PC gamers – and instead of focusing on improving game stability, Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Software's CEO, has come out with yet another hot take.

As originally reported on by Notebookcheck, Randy Pitchford has taken to X (formerly Twitter) yet again with another controversial tweet, suggesting Borderlands 4 is a "premium game" made for "premium gamers" that can't be expected to run on "too-old PC hardware".

It's not the first time Gearbox Software's CEO has left the PC gaming community irritated, since Pitchford last told fans that if they were "real fans" then they would "make it happen" in reference to paying $80 for the new AAA title, before its launch – and those comments alone, single-handedly threw me off of a purchase as well as it did for other gamers.

In this case, regarding the game's performance, Borderlands 4 struggles to run well on the best GPUs on the market, specifically the RTX 5090 at a 4K native resolution – and even fails to run above 90 frames per second (fps) at 1080p with DLAA enabled on max graphics settings.

Players are forced to use DLSS Quality (and even DLSS Performance in some cases, as I've spotted) upscaling, which I'm sure I don't need to tell you shouldn't be the case with an RTX 5090, nor when using some of the best gaming PCs available. You can see this in the video below from zWormz Gaming on YouTube.

RTX 5090 - Borderlands 4 : This Optimization is Unacceptable. - YouTube

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The minimum and recommended specs are published. The most common hardware is a four year old cell phone. Borderlands 4 is a premium game made for premium gamers. Just as Borderlands 4 cannot run on a PlayStation 4, it cannot be expected to run on too-old PC hardware. Unlike on…September 13, 2025

If you then consider that a large majority of PC players, at least those on Steam, according to the Steam Hardware & Software survey results as of August, are using an RTX 4060, you can only imagine how poor performance is on Nvidia's 'weaker-spec' graphics cards.

I'm sure I won't be the first to mention that gamers won't like being spoken down to, as that's what Pitchford is doing here with statements like Borderlands 4 being made for 'premium gamers', effectively alienating gamers who might not be able to afford the best hardware on the market – and again, it still struggles with the best configurations as well.

It's safe to say that Pitchford's comments aren't helping the cause, and I'm certain that it will only drive players away from the new title, regardless of how impressive its content is – especially when the title doesn't have a significant visual leap from its predecessor, Borderlands 3.

Analysis: game developers and studios, focus on optimization and less on controversial takes

I feel like a broken record saying this, but it would be great if game studios stopped releasing games that are clearly unoptimized and not ready to run for most PC gamers, because you run the risk of gamers turning away from your game for good – and I think Borderlands 4 is a prime example of that.

Also, if there's anything that's going to make a situation as such worse, it's patronizing statements and controversial takes shared online by game developers or CEOs that imply that gamers are 'broke' or that we're complaining too much.

The success of these titles very much relies on gamer reception, and riling them up isn't going to do anyone any favors, as I've said. The ideal solution in the aftermath of a poorly optimized game's release is for apologies to be shared and commitments of performance patches to be made – which Pitchford has done, but it's overshadowed by the hardware statements.

PC gamers just want games that launch without having to empty their wallets to get a playable frame rate, and if that can't be delivered, then they have every right to voice their frustrations.

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Isaiah is a Staff Writer for the Computing channel at TechRadar. He's spent over two years writing about all things tech, specifically games on PC, consoles, and handhelds. He started off at GameRant in 2022 after graduating from Birmingham City University in the same year, before writing at PC Guide which included work on deals articles, reviews, and news on PC products such as GPUs, CPUs, monitors, and more. He spends most of his time finding out about the exciting new features of upcoming GPUs, and is passionate about new game releases on PC, hoping that the ports aren't a complete mess.

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