Borderlands 4 hits record Steam numbers despite crashes

Borderlands 4 has launched to record-breaking concurrent player numbers on Steam, reaching more than 175,000 players within hours of its PC release and becoming the platform’s fourth most-played game. However, the highly anticipated looter-shooter has been marred by widespread performance issues that have earned it “mostly negative” user reviews.pcgamer

The game surpassed all previous entries in the franchise on Steam, breaking the record previously held by Borderlands 2, which peaked at 124,678 concurrent players in 2012. According to SteamDB, Borderlands 4 had reached an all-time peak of 148,591 concurrent players as of September 11, marking it as the most successful Borderlands launch on the platform.sportskeeda

Performance Problems Plague PC Launch

Despite the impressive player numbers, the game’s reception has been severely hampered by technical issues. Steam users report persistent frame rate drops, stuttering, and frequent crashes, even on high-end hardware. One reviewer using an RX 6900 XT complained of “terrible, terrible performance,” unable to achieve 60 FPS even on low graphics settings with FSR upscaling enabled.pcgamer

Similar issues were reported by users with powerful systems, including one player with a 3080 Ti managing only 30 FPS at 1440p on medium-to-high settings. Windows Central’s review noted that Borderlands 4’s gameplay was frequently undermined by “intermittent zone loading” and framerate drops.pcgamer

The game is built on Unreal Engine 5, which has become associated with performance issues in recent high-profile PC releases. According to Nvidia benchmarks, even the top-tier RTX 5090 graphics card runs the game at approximately 45 FPS at 4K without DLSS or frame generation enabled.tweaktown

Day-One Patch Promises Improvements

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has addressed the performance concerns, confirming that a day-one patch “does a lot” to improve optimization. However, he cautioned players to have “realistic expectations,” particularly those using older hardware.ign

“The expectation for using a below min-spec machine should be that the game is unplayable,” Pitchford said on social media, according to IGN. “It’s a big, bold, new, seamless world and I’m sorry to say that older hardware may not provide buttery smooth performance for the latest gen AAA games”.ign

PC Gamer’s hardware tester noted that a 2.7GB post-launch patch helped reduce crash frequency, though performance issues persisted. The day-one update was expected to roll out after the game went live, with Pitchford confirming it includes “key improvements and optimizations”.pcgamer

Strong Sales Despite Technical Issues

The technical problems haven’t prevented strong commercial performance. Analytics firm Gamalytic estimates that over 540,000 copies were pre-ordered on Steam, generating approximately $37.8 million in revenue. The game also accumulated 2 million wishlists on Steam before launch.app2top

Borderlands 4 is available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, with console versions launching on September 12 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and a Nintendo Switch 2 version scheduled for October 3.