Borderlands 4 made its debut earlier this month, and while console sales are impressive, the narrative on PC performance has taken a more contentious turn. Players have taken to various online platforms to voice their frustrations, particularly regarding the game’s dependency on DLSS and frame generation technology to achieve stable framerates. This reliance has led many to question whether the game can truly perform without these enhancements.
Interestingly, the complaints are not limited to those with less powerful systems. Even gamers equipped with high-end rigs have reported experiencing issues. Conversely, some players with older setups, such as an RTX 2080 paired with 32GB of RAM, have found the game to run smoothly, though the extent to which DLSS contributes to this performance remains uncertain.
Randy Pitchford, the outspoken head of Gearbox, has come to the game’s defense, labeling it “pretty damn optimal.” He has encouraged players to fully utilize the game’s features to enhance their experience, a statement that has not gone unnoticed by the community.
Why Players Are Increasingly Frustrated With Borderlands 4 Performance
Upscaling technologies like AMD’s FSR and NVIDIA’s DLSS have been hailed as revolutionary advancements in gaming, designed to help older GPUs keep pace with modern titles. However, there is a growing sentiment that these tools should not serve as a crutch for developers to sidestep proper optimization of new games—a trend that seems to be emerging.
As the technology has evolved, DLSS 4.0 has demonstrated remarkable capabilities, delivering enhanced framerates and improved stability. Yet, this shift from using such tools as supplementary aids to designing games that fundamentally rely on them has raised eyebrows among players.
In the case of Borderlands 4, the frustration expressed by the community appears to be warranted. Without the activation of DLSS or frame generation, players have found it challenging to maintain a smooth gameplay experience, even at lower resolutions.
The ball is now in Gearbox’s court to address these concerns. The initial step has been taken with the release of an optimization guide, officially provided by NVIDIA, which has reportedly improved performance for some players.
