It is unfortunate that I have reason to write this article. And this is not the first time I have had reason to do so.
When we tested the Geforce RTX 5090 at the beginning of the year, it achieved an average of just over 100 FPS in 4K resolution across nine games. This is without upscaling via DLSS & Co. and without frame generation, measured at maximum presets in each case.
When we play Borderlands 4 with these settings and a GeForce RTX 5090, we achieve around 40 to 50 FPS. Of course, it depends heavily on the scene selected, but we make sure to use the most representative game areas possible in our benchmarks. Either way, the difference is huge.
But don’t worry, I have good news for you! Presented by Randy Pitchford on X, CEO at Gearbox:
The game runs damn well – that is, the software does exactly what we want it to do without wasting unnecessary cycles on bad processes.
Well, I guess I can stop complaining now! But I’m not going to.
It’s just sad
Don’t get me wrong. Of course, graphics settings and modern techniques such as DLSS and frame generation are there to be changed and used to suit your own hardware, as Pitchford emphasizes over and over again at X .
However, it’s only fair and sensible to look at the performance baseline of a game using the fastest gaming hardware and highest settings without upscaling and AI-generated images.
Because this baseline determines what the game can deliver with slower hardware and other settings.
In my opinion, achieving just 40 to 50 FPS with an RTX 5090 in Borderlands 4, which has decent but certainly not outstanding graphics, is simply sad and far from being the baseline I would want for a game.
And I haven’t even started to address the stuttering that is unfortunately so typical of Unreal Engine 5, which often occurs in open-world games. This also applies to Borderlands 4, as our colleagues at Digital Foundry note in the following video, among others:
Upscaling is great, but not a cure-all
In doing so, Borderlands 4 is following a trend that, in my opinion, has often been rightly criticized by the gaming community.
Developers rely (too) heavily on upscaling and, increasingly, AI-generated images as a remedy.
However, there are at least two snags:
- The more the CPU becomes a limiting factor, the less upscaling helps.
- AI-generated images need a solid foundation of
real
FPS to ensure the smoothest possible gaming experience.
To make matters worse, the most important game engine of our time, Unreal Engine 5, repeatedly struggles with performance issues, as mentioned above. And even absolute high-end hardware is not immune to this.
The solution is not simple
There’s no question that UE5 is a remarkable toolset that enables titles with great visuals.
However, the fact that gamers are now increasingly hoping not to see “Made in Unreal Engine 5” in new announcements speaks volumes.
It is obviously no easy task to program a game that runs completely smoothly in this engine and does not have horrendous hardware requirements like Borderlands 4.
But when the CEO of a major gaming company repeatedly downplays this in public and points out that you can change the settings and resolution (or program your own engine), I don’t think that helps anyone.
What we can do about all this
Unfortunately, not much.
However, you and the community are already doing the most important thing: clearly expressing your dissatisfaction and, if necessary, not buying problematic games.
There’s no doubt that you can have a lot of fun with Borderlands 4, despite the performance issues. But in my opinion, there’s also no doubt that the game demands much more raw hardware power than it should, considering its graphics.
If all CEOs downplay it like Pitchford did in the case of Borderlands 4, there is little hope for improvement. At the same time, I am aware that games are extremely complex entities and that there are a huge number of different hardware configurations out there.
But when you consider what other games deliver visually and in terms of performance [did someone say Dying Light: The Beast
? (based on the C engine)], you can’t help but be very annoyed by the recurring issues with UE5 in general and the problems in Borderlands 4 in particular.
In the end, all we can do is hope for the best in the future, remain fair in our criticism, voice it loud and clear whenever necessary – and draw the appropriate conclusions.
Unfortunately, I doubt that Randy Pitchford will ever see reason in this lifetime.
