Gearbox has rolled out a new Borderlands 4 update aimed at improving stability across a variety of PC configurations. However, the lack of accompanying patch notes has sparked confusion among players regarding the update’s actual impact.

Borderlands 4 arrived last week, reaching a peak of over 300,000 simultaneous players on Steam—a record high for the series on the platform. Despite this success, the game has received “Mixed” reviews on Steam, with many critics pointing to ongoing performance issues on PC.

In an effort to address these concerns, Gearbox shared an Nvidia Optimization guide on Steam, offering tips to help players adjust their graphics settings for improved frame rates and smoother performance through the Nvidia app.

Gearbox also recommended that players avoid rushing to judgment after adjusting their settings, saying: “Please note that whenever you modify your graphics settings, your shaders will need to recompile. We suggest playing for at least 15 minutes afterward to properly gauge how performance has changed on your system.”

Over the weekend, Gearbox announced another new update via Steam—though the message was frustratingly vague and again lacked detailed notes. This left the community to speculate on what, if anything, had been improved, with mixed anecdotal results reflecting the game’s current “Mixed” review status.

“We hope you're having an incredible time in Borderlands 4. The team is thrilled to see everyone blasting and looting their way across Kairos,” Gearbox stated. “Today’s update is intended to boost stability for a broad range of PC setups.”

“There are no patch notes. Is this just a blog post advertising an unhelpful optimization guide?” asked Reddit user wtfwasthatdave. “The patch didn’t resolve my crashing problems,” added PBKrunch. Another player, drummerdude41, noted: “The game still runs poorly post-update. Those claiming it runs well are typically relying on frame generation and super sampling to hit their target framerates.”

Borderlands 4: All Vault Hunter Skill Trees Ranked

Borderlands 4: All Vault Hunter Skill Trees Ranked

     

Gearbox reiterated its earlier recommendation to let shaders recompile for up to 15 minutes before assessing performance: “Keep in mind that any graphics setting change triggers shader recompilation. This process may take as long as 15 minutes to complete fully.”

“Thank you once again for joining us on this adventure, Vault Hunters—we’re only just beginning,” the studio added. “We’re closely reviewing your feedback, preparing further updates, and will share more details soon.”

For those diving into Borderlands 4, be sure to use our regularly updated SHiFT codes list. We also offer a comprehensive interactive map and a powerful Borderlands 4 planner tool developed with Maxroll. Plus, take a look at our experts’ varied recommendations on which character to pick—there was no clear consensus!