The work on Borderlands 4 isn't over quite yet, as Gearbox reveals the final Vault Hunter to come this September as part of the looter shooter's optional Story Pack 2 DLC – and she is downright stunning, to be fair.

Her name is Loveless, as per her short teaser from Gearbox, and she's "an ex-Anshin hacker turned assassin," according to the developers. "Equipped with the highest-end cybernetics, Loveless also shares her mind with a digital virus of her own creation, which can digistruct into a physical form that acts as a deadly extension of her shared, perfection-seeking will."

She sounds absolutely badass – and straight out of Cyberpunk 2077, honestly.

I'm not alone in thinking so, either. The top comment also likens her to a Cyberpunk hacker, reading, "We got a netrunner in Borderlands." Another further down exclaims, "She looks like a netrunner from Cyberpunk" – and yes, yes she does.

There are some other interesting comparisons in fans' replies, with some even citing Ciri from The Witcher 3, and others asserting that "she looks like an Aldar from Warhammer 40k."

Overall, the community seems thrilled with Loveless' design – and, I mean, how could they not be? From her long white hair done up in a high ponytail to her gold piercings and cat-like expression, she's drop-dead gorgeous. If looks could kill, and all that… Not to mention the tech-savvy queen's description from Gearbox.

The whole "digital virus" bit is intriguing, to say the least, and I'm personally excited to see how it affects her in-game.

If you're as sold on Loveless as I am, you can grab the Vault Hunter Pack now on Steam for $49.99. It includes both Story Pack 1 and 2, along with Rogue – and soon, Loveless. If you bought the Super Deluxe Edition of Borderlands 4, however, you don't need to purchase any DLC for extra money, as it'll all land automatically in your copy.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a teaser to rewatch… and a game to redownload.

Gearbox head Randy Pitchford says Borderlands maker won't use AI for "any work that could ever be seen" after posting ChatGPT-generated image of a Gearbox employee.

An odd Twitter post from Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has once again spiraled out of control and prompted messaging on the company's policies, with generative AI at the center of the latest grease fire.

On May 3, Pitchford posted a ChatGPT-generated image depicting, per a May 4 clarification, "a picture of yourself as if you worked at my company, Gearbox Software." That is the prompt Pitchford gave the AI tool.

"My friends I was with for lunch earlier produced some funny things with similar prompts for themselves and I wanted to see what bullshit it would generate as an idea of a self identity because the idea of an AI even having an identity is nonsense," Pitchford says.

With that prompt, ChatGPT spit out an image of a middle-aged man with a salt-and-pepper beard sitting in a dark-lit room with an oddly strict black-and-wood motif. In the background rests a whiteboard scrawled with words like "Borderlands 4," "players first," and, quite ironically, "creative autonomy."

That whiteboard also notably mentions "new IP," fueling speculation that Pitchford's ChatGPT history may have bled into this output. He says, "ChatGPT has no information from me about anything from my work."

Pitchford using AI at all, even just to make and share something he calls "embarrassingly hilarious," triggered alarm bells among Borderlands fans, especially on the heels of Borderlands 4 patch notes which some players thought veered close to AI-generated text in style and grammar. Several large game studios have publicly and privately experimented with AI in a variety of disciplines, especially for QA and adjacent roles.

As a result, Gearbox is now the latest major game studio to proactively head off gen-AI accusations.

"I don’t use AI for work and our policy is no AI in any work that could ever be seen by any customer," Pitchford continues. "I’m using my personal phone and not my work computer (which is isolated from personal systems). It got whatever it generated from whatever public knowledge of Gearbox it has access to (hence my very clear disclaimer) and the timing or content of this has exactly zero to do with whatever feelings you’ve spun yourself up about with patch notes."

As a major studio under Take-Two, which also owns GTA 6 maker Rockstar Games, Gearbox's stance on gen AI use is under more scrutiny than some others. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has called gen AI "the future of technology," but also dismissed claims it will "reduce employment" or "create hits."

Just this March, Zelnick laughed off claims that AI could or will one day generate something on the scale or complexity of GTA 6.

Pitchford himself, meanwhile, was described by Zelnick last year as "one of the all-time great game makers," though his "big personality" can cause flare-ups much like this.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 studio insists AI used in "early stages of production" only, dodges questions about translator allegedly replaced by AI but says "we do not see AI as a substitute for human work."

It feels a little weird that, six months on from launch, we're still talking about Borderlands 4's notorious PC performance issues, but to be fair, it's been developer Gearbox itself dredging up the issue in recent days. Just this week, the studio admitted it still has more work to do on PC optimization, and now, one of the game's developers is opening up about the toll it's taken on a personal level.

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little stressful, but at the same time, I feel like that's part of what our jobs are," managing producer Eli Luna tells IGN. "When you're organizing these groups of people and nothing's really done in an assembly line, we don't wait for one part to be done, then we hand it off to the next part. Everybody's working simultaneously. And so trying to balance all that as we're moving along is always going to be a real challenge no matter what."

That said, Gearbox has genuinely put in the work with regards to PC performance, having released several targeted patches in the months since launch, and that's something Luna isn't shy to point out.

"I feel like we did a pretty good job, as looking at the 200 days [since launch]. We roughly got about 20% increase in FPS on just our rec spec," Luna says. "So I feel like we have done a pretty good job of taking the feedback, seeing what's there, trying to address it as best as we can."

Still, Luna echoes recent Gearbox comments that the job isn't finished, saying the devs still have "plenty of work to still do that we're doing throughout the rest of the year because we have more content coming out."

Specifically, Gearbox recently predicted this week's Borderlands 4 patch, which launched alongside the new Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned DLC, would result in a "20% gain in average frame rates across different PC specs," a 50% reduction in crash rates, and "improvements to greatly improve UI efficiency."

Here are the best first-person shooters you can play right now.

Borderlands 4 developer Gearbox knows the looter shooter launched in September with a swarm of PC issues attached to it, but it's already made some major performance changes – and it's prepared to make even more.

"A lot of our optimization work for PC players has centered on providing meaningful improvements in frame rate without noticeable sacrifices to the game, including visual fidelity, that are fundamental to the artistic intent of Gearbox's developers," Gearbox explains in a PC performance update post on its website released alongside a DevCast video on the same topic, which you can watch below.

Gearbox continues in its update, "Over the past several months, these optimizations have improved average FPS by approximately 20% across the board, including on our minimum and recommended specifications. But this is just the start." The developer acknowledges "we have more to do," but, "We're in it for the long haul!"

Managing producer Eli Luna notes in Gearbox's DevCast that Borderlands 4 is "our first game on Unreal 5 technology" – a notoriously buggy engine – so "there were a lot of things that we needed to look at as part of this launch on how we made our content and how we can make it more efficient."

According to Gearbox's post, compared to performance at launch, the next Borderlands 4 patch arriving March 26 with new DLC Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned created an approximately "20% gain in average frame rates across different PC specs," "nearly halved the crash rate, from 0.63% of all sessions to 0.38%," and "made backend code improvements to greatly improve UI efficiency."

But even with all those changes piling up over the last few months, Luna reiterates on video, "We still have a lot of work to do, and we're not stopping anytime soon."

Take a trip to Unreal Engines past with the best Borderlands games.

Borderlands 4 player, I hope you're ready to have your hands full. Gearbox's latest looter shooter is about to get a ton of stuff.

It begins on February 26 – with Bounty Pack 2: Legend of the Stone Demon, the first paid Borderlands 4 DLC, plus what Gearbox calls in an announcement a "major update" bringing the new Pearlescent rarity tier. Later, in March, Borderlands 4 is set to receive its first Story Pack, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, which will introduce the new playable Vault Hunter C4SH.

Yeah, that's a lot of stuff, no matter how you break it down. And it'll cost… more money, no matter how you break it down. The Borderlands 4 Bounty Pack Bundle, which encompasses Bounty Pack 2 through 5, is $40 ($20 less than the price of the base game), though Gearbox says you can also buy each Pack individually. Story Pack 1 does not yet have a price tag, but you can wishlist it now on Steam, Epic, and the Xbox store.

"As a quick refresher," says Gearbox, "Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned will introduce an all-new region of Kairos, new story missions, and the first new Vault Hunter for Borderlands 4." This Hunter, C4SH, was a casino dealer bot before he started Indiana Jones-ing for cursed artifacts. Still, his Action Skills revolve around the high-stakes unpredictability he became accustomed to in his gambling days, and Gearbox says to anticipate "good fortunes like buffing himself and allies, dealing devastating damage, sapping the strength from foes, and more."

If your fortune would prefer to stay in your bank account, however, the Borderlands 4 update bringing Pearlescent tier – which is better than Legendary – will be available to everyone.

Borderlands 4 will continue to be supported says Gearbox owner, and "we still are very optimistic about that title" despite launch being a "bit softer than we would've liked."

Borderlands 4 will continue to be supported by Gearbox Software, says parent company Take-Two Interactive, which is still "very optimistic" about the looter shooter, five months after a launch it originally admitted was a "bit softer than we would've liked."

In a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says that "we're still supporting Borderlands." He continues: "We'll have new content coming, we have updates coming and we still are very optimistic about that title.

"We think we'll continue to have strong sell-through of titles like that."

This echoes a statement made in the company's latest financial earnings call by Take-Two president Karl Slatoff. "Gearbox Software will continue to support Borderlands 4 with new content and updates, and we expect the title to achieve strong sell-through over its lifetime," he says.

This optimism from the parent company comes despite things not being entirely smooth sailing for the game since its release. Back in November, just under two months on from its initial launch, Zelnick said that "the release was a bit softer than we would have liked," pointing to the PC performance woes the looter shooter was up against at launch. Even so, it set a number of sales records in the US, including being the fastest-selling game in the series' history.

And then there's the ongoing situation with the indefinitely delayed Switch 2 release. Despite featuring in the first big Switch 2 reveal Direct, then later being given an October release date, it was eventually delayed due to needing "additional development and polish time."

Now, it's been revealed that Take-Two has "made the difficult decision to pause development on that SKU," which doesn't sound particularly promising. Instead, Take-Two spokesperson Alan Lewis says, "Our focus continues to be delivering quality post-launch content for players on the ongoing improvements to optimize the game."

Be sure to take a look at our Borderlands 4 review if you're yet to pick up the game, as well as our top Borderlands 4 tips to get you started.

Borderlands 4 might never come to Switch 2 after all, as Gearbox parent company Take-Two Interactive has now confirmed development on the port has been paused.

Gearbox delayed Borderlands 4 on Switch 2 indefinitely back in September, saying at the time that it needed "additional development and polish," but Take-Two is now confirming much more decisively that the port is probably not happening at all, at least not anytime soon.

In an interview with Variety, Take-Two spokesperson Alan Lewis revealed: "We made the difficult decision to pause development on that SKU," referring to Borderlands 4 on Switch 2.

This is of course a stinging blow to Borderlands fans who've been waiting months to play the game on Switch 2. It's wild to think back on a story I wrote in July about Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford announcing the Switch 2 release date for October, from a literal throne, and hailing Nintendo's new console as "a fricking awesome platform," now knowing that the port would never - and likely will never - surface.

"Our focus continues to be delivering quality post-launch content for players on the ongoing improvements to optimize the game," added Lewis. "We're continuing to collaborate closely with our friends at Nintendo. We have 'PGA Tour 2K25' coming out and 'WWE 2K26' [for Switch 2], and we're incredibly excited about bringing more of our titles to that platform in the future."

Considering Borderlands 4's rough performance on much more powerful hardware, it's not a huge surprise that Gearbox struggled to make it work on Switch 2, but with pre-orders having previously been open - not to mention Pitchford's antics hyping up the release - the whiplash from that to this is dizzying.

While you won't find Borderlands 4 on our list of the best Switch 2 games, you will find some other gems worth checking out.

Gearbox giveth, and Gearbox taketh away. Those higher drop rates in Borderlands 4 are being temporarily rolled back, according to the developer, and fans aren’t pleased about the fluctuation after getting used to the greater riches.

On Twitter, a player responds to the latest patch notes from the official Borderlands account asking if they can "conclude that the increased drop rates are staying?" Sadly not, as confirmed in a reply from Gearbox. "The drop rates are back to their pre-holiday event percentages!" says the post.

"That said, the team saw the positive reception and are investigating a longer-term increase," Gearbox adds. Despite the second part indicating this is not the last we'll see of more forgiving drops, this isn't going down well.

"'Positive reception' then takes it away. Way to keep the game alive guys," says one reply on Twitter. "I'm sad to understand that the drop rates went back to their original state. The increased drop rates felt really good and rewarding," says another.

The general sentiment is quite negative, as it seems counter-intuitive to introduce something to make vault hunting more pleasurable, only to then roll it back for whatever reason. From Gearbox's words, it sounds like the rates aren't where the devs would like them to be, and things are being reverted in order to roll-out the change in a way that works for the overall complexion of the shooter.

Ki11er Six, a noted Borderlands streamer and YouTuber, expresses their frustration in pointed fashion. "This is a massive fumble," they state. "These people really need to do better for all those people who don't have the time to spend 400 hours playing this damn game," adds a top response. Gearbox may want to try get this longer-term plan sorted sooner rather than later.

Borderlands boss Randy Pitchford says the games industry is "just getting started": "We haven't even had our Citizen Kane yet, let alone Jurassic Park or Star Wars. We're just figuring this s**t out."

2025 has been a bumper year for FPS games – the kind of year that makes you look at your backlog, sigh deeply, and accept that you're just never finishing anything ever again. It's been a year where even the weird experimental shooters have been good, and long-running franchises have come good after years in the wilderness. Our list of best FPS games for 2025 stretches in every direction: tighter, faster arena shooters; big-budget bombast; extraction shooters refining their brutal little loops; and narrative blasters that hit harder than you expect.

These are the five FPS games that defined 2025; the ones that stuck with us. They're smart, sharp, messy, stylish, occasionally infuriating, but always compelling. These games that understand the fantasy at the heart of the FPS: pointing something that goes bang at something that needs to fall over, and somehow turning that simple loop into comforting video game junk food.

5: Metal Eden

Developer: Reikon Games
Platform(s): PS5, PC, Xbox Series X

From the developers behind 2017's Ruiner, Metal Eden is a razor-sharp arena FPS that feels like a love letter to the glory days of twitch shooters. It's fast, stylish, and brutal in a way most modern games are too polite to be. Movement is snappy, guns hit hard, and every arena feels built to make you sweat. The arena shooting here reminds me of 2016's Doom, and at five hours long it's a tightly placed slice of fun that is the perfect palate cleanser between some of the other FPS games on this list. The story and world is couched in sci-fi nonsense, but it's pulpy fun if you can tolerate all the talk of floating cities, COREs, and hyper units.

Movement is pleasingly fluid and you get a double-jump, air and ground dashes and even a jetpack to make your fights feel three-dimensional. The guns are phenomenal, with your default weapon being a full-auto submachine gun that can chew through enemies without a problem. When you get access to the game's pistol, traditionally a lame starter-weapon in most FPS games, the high-damage blasts that turn enemies into chunks is a revelation.

4: RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business

Developer: Teyon
Platform(s): PS5, PC, Xbox Series X

RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business feels like a magic trick: while it's technically a standalone DLC for Rogue City, it's actually a whole new game in DLC clothing. Unfinished Business doubles down on the fantasy of being a legally sanctioned fridge with a gun, but this time you get to play as regular made-of-meat Alex Murphy, but also you can play as a much-bigger-fridge-with-a-gun, the ED209.

Unfinished Business strips away a lot of the open-world Deus Ex-ish bits of Rogue City and instead chucks you into the bottom floor of an OCP skyscraper, the Omnitower, occupied by mercenaries and tasks you with fighting your way to the top. At its core, it's the same game as Rogue City, but the pacing is cleaner, there's an all-new cryo cannon and you can even fight those ridiculous ninja robocops from Robocop 3 if that's something you've been craving for some reason.

3: Borderlands 4

Developer: Gearbox Software
Platform(s): PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Series X, PC

Borderlands 4 is big dumb fun from a franchise known for it, but with less of the juvenile annoyances I've seen in its prequels. It's a smart reinvention of what works and what doesn't – Gearbox has doubled down on the chaotic blasting and jokes, making a shooter that's nonsensical fun without just being Claptrap and Tiny Tina warbling on for hours.

Don't worry: it's still loud, still crass, still drenched in loot colors, but there's a clarity to Borderlands 4 that makes it feel like the best the series has been since the original. Gunplay feels punchier and more physical. Enemies react properly when hit, elemental effects chain together in satisfying ways, and the game's new "modular perks" system means guns don't feel disposable after 10 minutes – you build around them, tweak them, and keep favorites for hours. It's still Borderlands, but it's sharper, better-paced, and confident.

2: Escape From Tarkov

Developer: Battlestate Games
Platform(s): PC

Yes, Escape From Tarkov has been "around forever." Yes, it technically launched in some form back in 2016. And yes, its community has fought more civil wars than most countries. But 2025 is the year Tarkov finally clicked into its final form – a unified, stable, terrifying monster of a game that rewards obsession and punishes complacency like no other shooter on the market. Every firefight is a panic attack in slow motion: bullets snap past your ears, armor gets blown to pieces, grenades roll under rusty shelving, and somehow you escape bleeding, limping, and exhilarated.

Tarkov is still absurdly complicated. Loading a mag with ammo might require a spreadsheet, quests feel like hazing rituals, and the menus might actually be haunted. But when you commit – really commit – it becomes one of the most rewarding FPS experiences available. 2025's 1.0 release may not have been groundbreaking, but in shedding its early access label, I can officially recommend the game I've played much more than anything else to a whole new audience. It's not for everyone; it doesn't want to be. But if you want pure, high-stakes firefight adrenaline, nothing else comes close.

1: Battlefield 6

Developer: Battlefield Studios
Platform(s): PS5, PC, Xbox Series X

Battlefield 6 is fast and frenetic fun, a mix of urban long-range combat that is less about individual skill and more about working as a team to blow up as much stuff as possible. A varied arsenal and interesting map design come together to create a multiplayer shooter that's truly memorable, solidifying its status as one of the best Battlefield games of all time – let alone the best FPS of 2025.

Battlefield 6 delivers on EA's vision: make a version of Battlefield 3 for the modern age, a modern Battlefield game that was less controversial than pretty much everything released since Battlefield 4 released all the way back in 2013. In doing so, it has proved that great design is eternal, as new smart additions like dragging your teammates to cover while reviving them, tactical ladders, and even hopping on a UAV and then hitting it with a sledgehammer to fly yourself into low-orbit (RIP) combine to create intense, memorable gunfights. It's not perfect, but it's so much fun you won't notice.

Battlefield 6 is also one of the best games of 2025 in a more general sense, and we've ranked the others for you.

Borderlands 4 has released its first DLC pack, How Rush Saved Mercenary Day, for free for everyone, but instead of feeling joy, some people are angry. The DLC sets are included as part of more expensive versions of the game, like the Deluxe or Collector's Edition, leaving fans feeling out of pocket.

Except they shouldn't be worried. In exchange for giving away the first DLC for free, Gearbox is promising an extra DLC pack, which will be included with the more expensive editions next year. Some Deluxe Edition players praise the decision, with one Steam user writing, "Everyone is getting this for free, and we'll get another piece of dlc content. Good decision."

However, the majority of people are not so pleased with the announcement, though there were two very different reasons for this. Firstly, there is the aforementioned crowd that feels cheated that people will get something for free that they paid for, even if they are getting something extra in return. "I'm calling bullshit," one Twitter user writes. "I'm actually pissed… Now I gotta wait for my paid content..I would've saved my money."

By far the most common response is people complaining about the game's performance issues, with people saying that they would rather have bug fixes than DLC. "You should fix performance," one Steam user writes in response to the DLC announcement. "I'm fed up with fps drops and stuttering." Another says, "Can you ask the Arc Raiders devs how they optimized their game? Borderlands 4 runs so poorly in comparison. No excuse, as they are on the same engine."

Whatever your opinion, you can try out Borderlands 4's first Bounty Pack DLC right now, as long as you own the base game.

Playing through the latest Gearbox action RPG yourself? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips for a smooth start in Kairos, or read our Borderlands 4 review to learn what we think.

One of the most frustrating things about Borderlands 4's loot system is the way class mods seem to almost never roll in your favor, leaving you with mods that aren't applicable to your class and thus are 100% useless to you – unless you have another character who's the right class. Thankfully, it seems Gearbox has heard from enough players saying the same, as there's a new patch out now that seems to address this very problem.

"Class Mods have been adjusted to drop more for your current character," reads a line under the recent patch notes's "notable changes" section. It's such a small line amongst a massive list of bug fixes and other quality of life stuff, but it really should make a big, positive difference to loot and progression, which is pretty much the whole point of Borderlands 4.

Speaking of which, the patch also adds a new "legendary loot indicator" to your combat radar so it's easier to spot those super rare drops, and your loot feed will now show you how much money you have after you buy something, or pick up cash.

In terms of new content, you can also access the game's first Bounty Pack for free, thanks to Gearbox's festive spirit this time of year. Bounty Pack 1 will add new holiday-themed missions, cosmetics, a new boss, and of course, the thing we're all here for, new legendary loot.

Borderlands 4's "most insane glitch" yet lets you break every character's skill tree and changes "the build meta for every build," swiftly catching the attention of Gearbox: "We're on it"

A brand new Borderlands 4 glitch has been discovered that allows players to completely break any character's skill tree – but it's clear that it won't be sticking around, as the looter shooter's creative director says, "we're on it."

Yesterday, Borderlands content creator JoltzDude139 took to Twitter with a rather ominous message. "Uh oh… someone just found the most insane glitch in Borderlands 4," he wrote. "This will change the build meta for every build." Not long after, he posted a video (below) showing the glitch in action, which, in simple terms, means we can "grab any skill we want in our builds lol."

In Borderlands 4, players only have a limited number of skill points to play with in their skill trees. However, as demonstrated by JoltzDude139, there's currently a bug that allows you to refund skill points without removing access to skills unlocked later down the tree. For example, in the video, we see the content creator invest enough points to unlock Amon's Electrical Fire skill – one found right at the bottom of the Vault Hunter's skill tree, and one that would usually require 26 skill points to access.

After unlocking the skill normally, JoltzDude139 then begins a rather slow process of investing just one more point into the skills behind it in the skill tree, specifically using the button to invest all points. Then, after pressing the undo button, for some reason, two skill points are returned. Following this, the process is repeated – JoltzDude139 invests "all" into a skill he doesn't want, and then presses the undo button.

Eventually, all skill points are removed from the unwanted skill, but this doesn't cut off access to the "target" skill at the bottom of the skill tree – despite the fact that in normal play, you'd need the skills before it to unlock it.

It's slightly complicated, and well worth watching JoltzDude139's video if you want to try and replicate the glitch yourself, but basically all you need to know is that it can be used on any character to unlock all of the skills you want on their respective trees – even those right at the very bottom – without having to worry about investing in any prior skills you're not interested in. This allows for combinations that weren't previously possible – as JoltzDude139 said, breaking the build meta.

As you'd imagine, it's so broken that Gearbox has wasted absolutely no time setting its sights on it. Responding directly to JoltzDude139's video on Twitter, Borderlands 4 creative director Graeme Timmins has a short message – a warning, perhaps, to tell folks not to get too attached to the bug. "We're on it," he writes.

While it's not clear how long this could take to fix, it's clear it won't be sticking around. So, if you want to give it a go, be sure to do so sooner rather than later.

If you've not picked up Gearbox's latest game yet, be sure to take a look at our Borderlands 4 review, or our Borderlands 4 tips to get you started.

As players continue to enjoy Borderlands 4 and all its new content, one dedicated modder is still embarking on his journey to revive the long-dead Borderlands MMO as a brand-new project: Borderlands Online.

If you've not already heard of it, Borderlands Online is an in-progress recreation (or, attempt at one) of the Borderlands MMO that was axed after 2K China was shut down back in 2015. Its creator, modder EpicNNG, previously unveiled the passion project as his way of making sure "the community gets to experience this game one way or another." He went on to reveal he actually "successfully obtained a build" of the real Chinese game, too.

It hasn't been an easy process, however – EpicNNG later turned to the community for help to bring the dead Borderlands MMO to life, before dubbing it his "biggest challenger ever" as a dedicated modder. Some time has passed since then, and there haven't been too many updates on Borderlands Online – until now, that is. In a new post, EpicNNG assures fans that some "significant progress" has been made on the project.

"After a long hiatus, we're slowly getting back into continuing our efforts to get the game playable," he begins. "One of the biggest struggles right now is basically server code, and a whole bunch of other technical talk I won't get into. The good news is we have recently made significant progress not only in what we can play, but also in the version of the client. We are now on what we believe to be one of the latest, if not final, builds of the game."

EpicNNG continues, sharing that the future seems bright for Borderlands Online: "This helps tremendously and gives a great deal of hope for continued progress going forward. While I won't be sharing gameplay of this new build for the foreseeable future, I will follow up soon with some new details about BLOL, some of which were previously unknown to most." He thanks supporters, joking, "billionaire overlords, don't C&D us."

The modder concludes that he and other players working on Borderlands online are "just dedicated fans who want Borderlands to continue being delivered into the hands of loyal fans," leaving an email address for any interested developers who'd like to join the effort. All in all, the update on Borderlands Online is a refreshing one – and it appears that fellow stans of the official Gearbox games are already offering to help.

Here's hoping that Borderlands Online finally does come to fruition one day, and proves to be the project hopefuls wanted out of the canceled MMO – it certainly sounds like EpicNNG is doing his best to ensure it does, and is, anyway.

Playing through the latest Gearbox action RPG yourself? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips for a smooth start in Kairos, or read our Borderlands 4 review to learn what we think.

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick says Borderlands 4 didn't achieve the launch numbers the company was hoping for, partially due to PC issues, but it's still proud of Gearbox for its accomplishment regardless.

"While we experienced some challenges with optimization of performance on PC, Gearbox has been addressing these issues and releasing updates to improve gameplay," Zelnick said in the latest Take-Two investor presentation. "We're confident that Borderlands 4 will achieve strong unit sales over its lifetime."

Zelnick added that Take-Two is "immensely proud of Gearbox" and is looking forward "to robust post-launch content offerings that will support the game in the months ahead."

Later on in the call, during the Q&A portion, Zelnick expanded on this idea, hope, belief, whatever, that Borderlands 4 will have a longer tail than its initial launch figures might suggest.

"The release was a bit softer than we would have liked for the reasons that you said," Zelnick said in response to an investor who mentioned the game's notorious PC performance issues as a possible contributing factor to the drag in launch sales.

"Gearbox has been addressing the PC challenges. And I think in retrospect, we feel that there are things that we could have done better, but we intend to do better in the future. In the fullness of time, we think the unit sales on this title will be very solid, and the the economic results will be in line with our expectations," said Zelnick.

Borderlands 4 hasn't exactly been a commercial disappointment - setting multiple US records for Gearbox as the fastest-selling game in the series, the first to debut as the best-selling game of its month, and becoming the third-best seller of 2025 - but I suppose Take-Two was hoping for a little more success right out the gate.

Otherwise excellent Borderlands 4 patch accidentally brings back the infamous crit knife: "How does this go through testing?"

Borderlands 4 developer Gearbox has had its eye on player feedback, previously admitting it has "seen the discourse" about OP builds and promising "more options are coming soon" as the crit knife build dominated the meta.

Just last week, the team released a hefty patch addressing said crit knife, with "major balance tuning" and a plethora of much-needed nerfs… However, days later, the now-infamous crit knife, which has been dubbed "broken" and "overpowered" by fans, is back yet again. The latest update from Gearbox sees its return, as disappointed players confirm online. "100% CRIT KNIFE IS BACK," exclaims one in a recent post. Attached is a video of the knife in action.

"Silly, but yeah. lmao. This damn knife, dude." Another fan follows up with their own thread, pondering how the overpowered build managed to make its way back into Borderlands 4. "Gearbox just brought back the OG crit knife," they write. "How does this go through testing? We just see if the initial problem was fixed and don't check for any downsides? Genuinely confused as to how this made it to pass." They do make a good point, I suppose.

Thankfully, though, the update boasts plenty to be excited about, too – including a Weekly Wildcard Mission change that has the community thrilled. That's because the guaranteed Legendary drop this time around is beloved shotgun Bod. The Weekly Big Encore Boss has also swapped to a tougher variant of Primordial Guardian Origo with a more rewarding loot pool to boot. Maurice's Black Market Vending Machine is now easier to get to as well.

It's safe to say that, despite the crit knife hiccup, players are grateful for the update's other, more intentional tweaks. As one content fan writes in a post covering the changes, "Small patch, but they cooked." A separate Reddit thread showcases similarly happy voices, with commenters stating, "It's Bod season boyo!" While plenty point to the Bod drop and Origo as their highlights, some are evidently just ready for it all: "Hell yeah, perfect!"

Here's hoping the changes continue to impress – and a quick fix comes for the crit knife. Our own Borderlands 4 review describes the game as "undeniably an excellent looter shooter," so it's safe to say that it may just stand as one of the best Borderlands games.

Playing through the new action RPG yourself? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips for a smooth start in Kairos.

Video games in the Alien franchise are hit or miss, to put it lightly. For every Alien: Isolation, there are a few already-dead facehuggers, like the disastrous Aliens: Colonial Marines. Although the 2013 FPS lives in infamy, voice actor Ashly Burch has fonder memories.

Well-known as the performer behind Tiny Tina in Borderlands and Aloy in the Horizon series, Burch was just starting to break in when Colonial Marines arrived, and she reveals that her time on Pandora actually got her through the door. "I was just really excited that I’d gotten another gig," she remembers in an interview with Fall Damage.

"The reason that I got Alien: Colonial Marines is because it's a Gearbox title," she recalls. "I had done well enough with Tiny Tina that they were like, 'Oh, let's bring her into this thing.'" She voices Lieutenant Lisa Reid, one of the marines sent to investigate the USS Sulaco after the events of Aliens, only to wind up back in the Hadley's Hope colony on LV-426.

A side-character, Lisa manages to survive the entire plot of Colonial Marines, but Burch has been pretty alright with people forgetting she was involved. "When a game doesn’t do well, sometimes it's tied to performance, but often, people are thinking about gameplay and narrative more than anything else," she muses.

"So I think I kind of felt like, 'Are people even going to remember that I was in this?'" she says, before adding with laughter: "Now they do."

The issues with Colonial Marines are plentiful, but the voice-work isn't one of them. Maybe we'll hear Burch back as Lisa in Alien: Isolation 2 or another release someday, though finding the time in her schedule will be a little harder now than it was back then.

Alien: Isolation writer says the game "is too scary" for a lot of people and "we probably could've sold more if we'd watered it down," and speaking for the scaredy cats, I'm so glad they didn't

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford recalled a time where he was envisioning a Half-Life based idea and out of nowhere received an unrelated call from Valve boss Gabe Newell.

After leaving 3D Realms Randy Pitchford joined Rebel Boat Rocker with fellow ex employees, "It was very difficult. We were taking every risk building a new game, creating a new engine, building a new IP, and building a company all at the same time," Pitchford explained in the Shacknews documentary 24 'Til Launch: The Making of Borderlands 4. However, if you don't recognise the studio, that's because its debut game was cancelled by EA and the staffers all jumped ship, with a number of them founding Borderlands 4 developer Gearbox, as Pitchford explains " I called up some of the folks that I'd respected the most that I'd been working with and asked them if they wanted to kind of come along and let's get this thing going."

After the previous studio folded while making its own IP and engine, Pitchford wasn't keen to repeat that in case Gearbox faced the same fate "Half-Life had just launched, and so I had this idea," with Pitchford describing "we have a parallel story going on simultaneously that we know must have took place because we played Half-Life, but we didn't see that experience, the point of view of one of the soldiers in Black Mesa, and everybody loved it." And it turns out that would come to fruition far quicker than expected.

Pitchford recalled, "I don't believe in manifestation – I believe in coincidence – literally that afternoon, with no action on my part, Gabe Newell calls me because he had heard that we had left Rebel Boat Rocker and that I was starting a new thing, and he wanted to see if we would be interested in working on Half-Life." He "immediately got on a plane" and pitched the game that would eventually become Half-Life: Opposing Force. However, since Valve didn't own Half-Life at that point, with publisher Sierra owning the IP.

Pitchford added, "they said, 'Sorry, we don't actually own Half-Life. You gotta drive down the street to Sierra On-Line and talk to the publisher. We're going to call them and tell them you're coming, and tell them we think what you've got is cool, but you gotta sell them, they're the ones that are going to have to pay for anything and agree to do it.'" This resulted in Opposing Force releasing just over nine months after Gearbox opened its doors and the rest was history.

Borderlands boss Randy Pitchford says the games industry is "just getting started": "We haven't even had our Citizen Kane yet, let alone Jurassic Park or Star Wars. We're just figuring this s**t out"

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford reckons the games industry still hasn't kicked into high gear yet despite how much work went into Borderlands 4.

Citizen Kane is often used as the shorthand for "the best thing in a given medium" and while that may not exactly be truthful in Citizen Kane's case when the likes of 12 Angry Men, Harakiri, and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie exist, but "the Citizen Kane of X" is a common phrase. And while some argue the Citizen Kane of games may be something like Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Chrono Trigger, or Super Mario 64, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford reckons games still haven't had a Citizen Kane

In the Shacknews documentary 24 'Til Launch: The Making of Borderlands 4, Pitchford spoke about the process of creating games, and how in the modern era, it's become riskier, and requires everyone to give it their all. "The budgets of our big video games now are larger than the budgets of blockbuster movies. You can't easily make that decision to commit those kinds of resources towards a thing" Pitchford said, adding "It can only happen if everybody in that loop believes that what is being imagined has more value to exist in the world than what it takes to to create it, which means you both need the idea of what it takes to create it, the belief in what it takes to create it, and a sense of what it might be worth if it was created."

However despite the gaming industry being a powerhouse, and gaming budgets rivalling films, Pitchford says "I love that we're just getting started," in reference to the entire games industry. He adds "we haven't even had our Citizen Kane yet, let alone Jurassic Park or Star Wars. We're just figuring this shit out. But it's fun."

The first feature film is typically agreed to be 1906's "The Story of the Kelly Gang" and Citizen Kane came out 35 years later in 1941, meanwhile 1958's Tennis for Two Is considered to be the first computer game, with 35 years later being 1993, which just so happened to be the year Daytona USA first appeared in Japanese arcades, affirming my long-time belief that Daytona USA is the Citizen Kane of games.

Borderlands 4's Halloween event is being torn apart by disappointed players who call it a "huge step down" and one of the "worst" content drops in the looter shooter series

It's Halloween, the most wonderful time of year, filled with horror movies, pumpkin carving, and spooky events across many of our favorite games. Borderlands 4 is getting in on the fun, carrying on the series tradition of seasonal treats, except this year's offerings feel more trick than treat.

Getting into the scary spirit is something Borderlands has done since the second installment, where the TK Baha's Bloody Harvest DLC brought a new area, missions, and, of course, some lovely loot. The equivalent in the third, Bloody Harvest, was free and had Vault Hunters bustin' ghosts while dealing with undead enemies in search of four legendary weapons.

Borderlands 4 has the Horrors of Kairos, another free addition, but despite the low price of nothing, it's not going down well. The offerings are smaller than usual, with an environmental blood rain effect rather than an actually fresh area, and only two legendary weapons. The execution is lackluster, as the red storm is restricted to a single corner of the map, and players have been voicing their discontent.

"I know it's free and free is good, but this isn't it," Borderlands content creator JoltzDude139 says on Twitter. "Driving circles for 20 minutes just to get one rift bubble and not get a new drop feels bad. It's a Knoxx DLC driving simulator."

Feedback is much the same across the board. "I know it's just a mini-event but compared to what we had in Borderlands 3 it's a huge step down," Moxsy, another video creator, posts. "BL3 added a new unique area, unique boss, and new loot and anointments. This event is over in two seconds, no unique enemies and underwhelming loot."

Borderlands modder and dataminer EpicNNG is even more emphatic. "I legitimately think it may be a top five worst content drop of all time in this franchise," they state on Twitter. "Free or not, it does not give it a pass on criticism. Legit what else have they released that is worse than this event?"

Credit where it's due, Gearbox's work here is horrifying, just not in the way the team would like. Horrors of Kairos runs until November 6, if you dare.

Borderlands 4 set multiple US records for Gearbox as the fastest-selling game in the series, the first to debut as the best-selling game of its month, and becoming the third-best seller of 2025, analyst says

Borderlands 4 developer Gearbox Software has confirmed that its upcoming nerf-heavy update that'll banish the looter shooter's most broken builds to the shadow realm has escaped from its already delayed release window of early this week, and it's now set to arrive tomorrow, instead.

Gearbox acknowledged the so-called "unintended interactions" that certain broken Borderlands 4 builds (and the infamous crit knife) rely on back in September, but it wasn't until earlier this month that creative director Graeme Timmins gave fans a week's notice that the devs were finally fixing them. However, that week has now become two, as the patch was delayed to "early" this week, but it's still not been launched. Thankfully, that will change very soon.

Acknowledging the fact that the patch has escaped its new launch window on Twitter, the official Borderlands account writes: "Glad you're excited for the update! We have a few things we're tidying up right now, and it'll be rolling out with the Horrors of Kairos mini-event. We can't wait for you to see what we've been brewing."

On the Borderlands 4 post-launch roadmap, the Horrors of Kairos event is slated to run between October 23 and November 6, meaning that unless there's a third delay, the patch should arrive tomorrow. As Borderlands content creator EpicNNG responds, the update could potentially "result in a loss of casuals due to nerfs/fixes," so therefore perhaps Gearbox considered that "it's not worth dropping it prior to the first content drop when they can instead play the long game."

Rest assured that even with these upcoming changes, Gearbox isn't simply out to ruin anyone's fun, however. Timmins previously explained: "Our intent is always to expand the number of builds, so any adjustment we make is in service of that goal."

Be sure to check out our Borderlands 4 review if you've still not given Gearbox's new looter shooter a try, or our Borderlands 4 tips to get you started.

Borderlands 4 developer Gearbox is keeping an eye on player feedback, previously admitting the team has "seen the discourse" about OP builds – especially surrounding the infamous "crit knife" – and will soon be "adjusting" things.

Players have been flagging the "broken" and "overpowered" crit knife build for weeks now, with a recent online thread shedding light on just why it's such a problem – and it basically boils down to lack of diversity (and lack of incentive to play literally any other way when the knife is so strong). "It's 100% flat crit chance, absolute," as the post's author explains. "There is nothing in the game that will ever be able to compete with that."

The fan continues, using a fellow player as an example, saying he "has 90% on Rafa, but to do that, he has to take a specific skill setup, and *still* he is not getting more than the knife. It's insane." They go on to state, "The condition for 100% crit chance shouldn't be if you can aim and press a button," with another user chiming in to actually defend the crit knife – and ping associate creative director Grant Kao and creative director Graeme Timmins in.

According to the devs, the crit knife debacle is very much on their minds – and changes are underway. "We will be adjusting it," writes Kao. "The crit knife's potential output diminishes playstyle variety. The gun builds that use the crit knife have other options and will have more options coming soon." Timmins also responds: "Our intent is always to expand the number of builds, so any adjustment we make is in service of that goal."

It seems then that Gearbox has an update or two up its sleeve – and yes, the team will likely address the crit knife controversy in them. Fans sound content, too, with one replying, "This is a great answer. I love using the knife because it’s a fun gameplay loop, but more options are awesome." The devs haven't yet clarified what the new options coming will actually be, but it's safe to say the community is excited just to learn they're in the works.

Here's hoping the changes prove fruitful to fans – and allow for more diverse playstyles. Our own Borderlands 4 review describes the game as "undeniably an excellent looter shooter," so it's safe to say that it may just stand as one of the best Borderlands games.

Playing through the new action RPG yourself? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips for a smooth start in Kairos.

Borderlands 4 just got a smaller patch with some tweaks and adjustments to gear, but be warned – the looter shooter's creative director has given us our "seven days notice" that those completely broken builds are seemingly about to be banished.

Last month, creative director Graeme Timmins acknowledged that developer Gearbox had "seen the discourse about builds that use unintended interactions and/or the knife," but at that time, dealing with them wasn't the focus, with more buffs on the table instead. However, as the game's first major patch rolled out, Gearbox confirmed that it was planning fixes for these things since the "exploits prevent us from creating meaningful build diversity as they trivialize content that is otherwise meant to challenge players," and it sounds like these changes are almost ready.

In a new post on Twitter, Timmins confirms that next week's update will be "a larger one," with upcoming changes to "specific gear and those unintended interactions." He adds, with a wink: "This is your seven-day notice." This was posted last night, so we're down to six days now – time is ticking.

This week's patch notes also mention the upcoming changes to "unintended interactions in certain Vault Hunter skills," while adding that there are other nerfs coming, too, with "adjustments to overperforming gear" on the way.

Other adjustments will be more generous, however, and "focus on Class Mods, Repkits, Shields, and Firmware being tuned to provide greater viability for melee builds, and account for deficiencies in other specific Vault Hunter builds." On top of that, we can expect "a host of improvements to stability, performance, and some highly requested quality-of-life changes!"

As for the current patch, changes include Ruby's Grasp being buffed with a 50% damage increase and 25% fire rate boost, and Queen's Rest getting a 50% fire rate buff alongside a spawn chance increase (it's now 50% instead of 30%). Additionally, all Pets now "properly gain Critical Hit Chance from Passives and Gear," and Vex's Bleed now counts as status effect damage.

Borderlands 4 creative director says "It's way more involved and riskier than it appears" as fans call for a popular dialog skip mod to become official, warns it may "lead to broken mission states that might not be recoverable."

Borderlands 4 has been out for the better part of a month now, which means it's time for the most important part of the post-launch cycle – waiting for balance patches to fix your favorite pieces of loot. Gearbox is teasing a handful of items on the immediate to-do list, and it's looking like a good time if you like legendary pistols, assault rifles, or the beloved Hellwalker.

Creative director Graeme Timmins and associate creative director Grant Kao "have a plan of attack for the next couple weeks of changes," according to a tweet from the latter dev. "We have a big patch coming soon that will address the recursive behaviors of a few passives which will impact a few builds."

In response to content creator Moxsy's note that Star Helix "genuinely needs a buff, feels like I’m shooting pebbles," Kao says that "this week we're going to tune some pistols and put in a damage increase for the hellwalker that we didn't get in time when we converted it to fire. ARs will come next!"

The Hellwalker was a favorite in Borderlands 3, and it should be – after all, it's a tribute to Doom's Super shotgun, one of the greatest weapons in video game history. But while it returned in Borderlands 4, it didn't deliver quite the same punch in the new game. Hopefully the next round of buffs will give it that ol' deadly feeling once more.

Kao says that the team's goal "has always been to increase and enhance the build variety of classes and gear to tackle the game now and challenges we have lined up in the future." With that in mind, they aim to start "increasing the value of some legendary pistols" in the immediate future before they "look at increasing the opportunity for ARs to shine." Hopefully that means those bullets won't feel like pebbles much longer.

If you're looking for more loot, check out all the Borderlands 4 Shift Codes we've dug up so far.

Despite her relatively large role in Borderlands 3, Ava's gotten the Jar-Jar Binks treatment in Borderlands 4, wherein she's almost totally sidelined. Amara, another returning character from the third mainline game, is drafted in to pet-sit for Ava, who's been off gallivanting for months prior to the plot starting.

Where is Ava? We don't know. She's just elsewhere, resulting in all sorts of speculation about Gearbox's thought process and what this might indicate. There's a growing belief Amara's positioning is more than narrative convenience, and she's actually been placed into Ava's mold within the story.

Warning: Spoilers ahead. The central example, per a post on Twitter, is a scene in Borderlands 4 where Amara utilizes a shield around the other protagonists, just like Ava did in the prior game. The same power, fulfilling the same purpose, but not from a different character. It definitely seems convenient.

Some buzz around this conversation led to Borderlands content creator and dataminer EpicNNG revealing evidence Eva was once in the new looter-shooter, but has since been taken out. A selection of assets still present in the code include Ava's name, and they suggest she'd be sharing scenes with Zane, and using her bubble maneuver – the one remarkably close to what Amara deploys.

EpicNNG states no other references to Ava exist, but speculates these files could point towards her involvement in DLC, though whether that's true is impossible to tell right now. Ava's been a lightning round within the Borderlands fanbase since the third came out due to certain choices surrounding her character.

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford put up a poll on Twitter asking about whether the devs should bring back the crew from Borderlands 3 for 4, introduce an all-new cast, or have a mix. A mix won, and when he asked about Ava in particular, he got an impassioned response.

The audience is split on whether she deserves redemption, and the camp who would rather forget about her have been assuaged here. But given the possible revelation Ava was written out at some point during development, fans have expressed disappointment at not getting her full arc, with the glimmer of possibility in DLC. YouTuber and avid Borderlands fan SpeakingLions boldly states: "Ava deserved a narrative arc. Characters are allowed to grow, SHOULD be allowed to mature, misstep, AND exist outside of the whims of an angry internet mob. I love Amara. If it's true, I genuinely feel we were robbed of a generational story."

"Hopefully she comes back in a DLC, where she can show that she's grown since 3," another says. "Tho honestly her being a main character in the base story would've worked better (but I also love Amara so I'm torn)."

All of which is to say, it seems like maybe Ava had a bigger role in Borderlands 4 before being cut down. If you'd like to see her reappear, you may need to tell Gearbox about it.

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford can only say "well, s***" after learning a bug is blocking some Borderlands 4 players from sharing loot the way he recommended, but the devs are on it

Randy Pitchford is never one to not voice his opinion on Twitter, but after recommending a fan game the system he was left speechless.

Borderlands 4 was a pretty big success for Gearbox, with the game smashing series records in its first 24 hours, but if you took a look at the companies CEO Randy Pitchford on Twitter, you wouldn't really have known. Pitchford spent the early days of Borderlands 4's release having what could be best described as a Twitter crashout, which resulted in some gems like saying performance isn't bad, your expectations are just too high, "I bet you have emotions and expectations that you feel aren’t sufficiently attended to," and the classic "please get a refund from Steam if you aren't happy."

Part of his Tweeting spree has included giving tech support to players, even if that ended up making things worse at times. And he was back at it again, when a player asked for Maurice's Black Market to be retuned so that it's easier for players to get more items from it, given that each player has a different Black Market inventory.

Randy responded to the fan, urging them to "game that shit," giving the advice to "get in a group of people who post their rolls every week and jump into each other’s games to get the gear you want." However, when a different user pointed out to Pitchford that there's currently a bug locking players from accessing the machines while in a multiplayer game, Pitchford was left speechless, simply responding "well, shit."

He did however return the following day to confirm that the issue was a "Confirmed known bug" and that it is "Fixed and will be in an upcoming patch within the next two weeks." So at the very least if you're having this issue, you'll be able to scrape together loot from all your friends relatively soon.

Borderlands 4 launch "not as explosive as its predecessors," analyst reports, but "strong" Steam start and "steady console sales" make it "positioned for long legs" - especially once the discounts start flowing.

Borderlands 4 might not have achieved the "explosive" initial success of past Borderlands releases, but one analyst reckons it could be positioned for a long tail of sustained success.

Alinea market analysis head Rhys Elliott broke down September's most-downloaded games in a new Substack post, with Skate 4 taking the top spot. Hollow Knight: Silksong, meanwhile, is absolutely crushing the original Hollow Knight with six million downloads after just four weeks, which isn't surprising to me as it's a sequel releasing after many years of anticipation.

As for Borderlands 4, Elliott noted Gearbox's sequel managed to crack the top five most downloaded games of the month with 3.1 million downloads across all platforms.

"While not as explosive as its predecessors, Borderlands 4's strong Steam uptake and steady console sales suggest it's positioned for long legs – once the discounts start coming in, that is," said Elliott.

Borderlands games are notoriously discount friendly, often getting heavy price cuts within just months on the market. In fact, a pre-release Reddit poll showed most respondents were willing to wait for a discount instead of paying the $70 base price to play at launch.

If there is a sizable chunk of Borderlands 4's player base still waiting for a discount, especially if sales come in increasingly tempting waves, that could help fuel a consistent, long-term stable of batches of new players every so often. Ideally, though, Borderlands 4 just has a robust enough endgame and roster of post-launch content to keep its most loyal base satisfied.

Borderlands 4 mercifully ditches most of Borderlands 3 potty humor, but Gearbox gives itself a treat and references Dark Souls meme from Twitter in hidden sidequest

Gearbox has finally released the first major Borderlands 4 buff patch, improving all four Vault Hunters in the name of "greater build diversity." My eyes have admittedly glazed over a bit under the heft of these patch notes, but I'm pleased to report there isn't a single nerf in sight, at least for now.

"Our high level goal for Borderlands 4 is to always provide players with the tools and means to build their perfect Vault Hunter," Gearbox says of its "first significant balance patch."

"Through the combination of gear, Firmware, Skill and Specialization trees, we want players to experiment and craft theories, then put them to the test in combat."

This update focuses on "adjusting underperforming skills," with particular emphasis on Amon, who's been brought "closer in line with the general power level of the other Vault Hunters."

Vex summons and Rafa's melee skills were also adjusted to bump them up "in the late endgame," while Harlowe received the fewest tweaks just to ensure "Stasis is getting value for players."

You can read the full, chunky patch notes here. Amusingly, Harlow has just two lines in the patch: Stasis Slam Damage increased by 30%, and Stasis Immune Damage increased by 14.7%.

Rafa has a bit more going on with buffs to his Apophis Lance action skill (10% damage), People Person Capstones, Arc-Knives action skill (12% melee damage, 5% dash damage), and several passives.

The Vex changes, meanwhile, buff more than just her summons. Energy Vampire damage was increased alongside Eldritch Blast damage and Phase Explosion damage, giving her action skill more oomph along with some Capstone buffs for the Vexcalation tree in particular. Another standout: Phase Familiar health was increased by 10%, with damage increased by 21.9%.

Amon is the big winner. Half of the patch is just Amon: The Essay. Action skills, augments, capstones, and passives for all three of his skill trees have been buffed significantly.

Fellfrost damage was boosted by a whopping 71%, while Fulminating Fist damage has gone up 69%. Eternal Winter Massive Forgewave deals a full 100% more damage. Cooldowns were shortened, scalings improved, restoration went up – it's a good day to be Amon.

"Looking to the future, we're investigating stats and behaviors on Class Mods, Rep Kits, Shields, and Firmware to make sure they are providing avenues to greater build diversity," Gearbox says. Here comes the other shoe.

"We are also planning to fix a number of unintended interactions," Gearbox affirms. "These exploits prevent us from creating meaningful build diversity as they trivialize content that is otherwise meant to challenge players."

Just last night I was talking to my co-op buddy about how Borderlands 4 feels split between intentionally and unintentionally game-breaking guns, with the latter one-tapping anything like it's nothing. It sounds like Gearbox wants to rein those in without actually nerfing the stuff that's meant to feel overpowered.

Borderlands 4 players "CRUSHED" one of the looter shooter's toughest challenges yet as Rafa, so Gearbox is rewarding them with a special Shift code that doesn't expire until 2030.

The loot drop lottery can be an inscrutable thing in a game like Borderlands 4. You can go from feeling like the luckiest Vault Hunter in the galaxy, to believing you'll never get another worthwhile prize again.

The drop rates for certain parts of Borderlands 4 are unpredictable to the point players are starting to breed conspiracy theories. Popular Borderlands content creator Ki11er Six posted on Twitter about some strange rewards on repeated goes against the Foundry Freaks.

"15 runs (still going) in UVHM 5 – 1 dedicated drop. 25 runs with UVHM Off – Not a single dedicated drop," their post reads. "Meanwhile I have FIVE WORLD DROPS. WTF?" Replies indicate others having the same issues, leading to the assertion that doing boss reruns will gleam diminishing returns over time. Anecdotal stats indicate there to be some truth to this.

Eventually, Graeme Timmins, the creative director of Borderlands 4, was tagged in. He dispels any and all theorizing and states it's all just the ebb of flow of RNG. "RNGesus is a spiteful god at times, there aren't any penalties or anything behind the scenes," he says.

This has assuaged concerns, as players thank him for the reply. Getting the balance on loot right is one of the more difficult aspects of projects akin to Borderlands 4. You want players to feel rewarded but always be striving for the greatest treasure, and you want a community that lasts well beyond launch, requiring a clear difficulty curve.

Nobody gets it right 100% of the time. Rebalances and tweaks are inevitable. Whether this all gets looked at in the next Borderlands 4 update remains to be seen, but for now, it's all part of Gearbox’s masterplan as the RNGesus du jour.

Gearbox pushes Borderlands 4 patch full of Vault Hunter buffs to Thursday to "tweak a few more things" and fit in "proper QA testing," Amon mains assemble a wishlist

Borderlands 4 has been out in the wild for a couple of weeks now, and fans have been tearing their way through the looter shooter – and on the way, one of Gearbox's tough Community Challenges, too.

The studio first announced "Yolt," as developers dubbed the Community Challenge, in an online post last Friday. Telling fans that they had until September 28 to rack up a whopping 20 million Seconds Winds – a resurrection of sorts, granted if a vault hunter takes down an enemy while dying in the "Fight For Your Life" mode – as Rafa, Gearbox promised a special addition to the ever-growing list of Borderlands 4 Shift codes as a reward.

Two days have passed now since the official end of the Yolt Community Challenge period, and thankfully, players were able to pull off more than 20 million Second Winds as Rafa. "¡Qué bacán! You guys CRUSHED our Community Challenge and got more than 23.4M Second Winds as Rafa this weekend," as Gearbox reveals in a new announcement – and as the team promised, devs are rewarding dedicated fans with a Shift code.

"Enjoy this Shift code for his Savings Savior skin, inspired by his character short 'Yolt,'" writes the studio, pasting the following key: TZXT3-XJXCB-CXBJW-BTTJT-9SK6B. As the devs explain, it unlocks a unique skin for Rafa based on his short story clip (available to watch via YouTube). Players don't need to worry about rushing to input the Shift code, either, as it's not set to expire until December 31, 2030. Yes, the 2030 that's five years away.

Gearbox concludes, "We'll have more Community Challenges in the weeks to come" – an exciting statement that implies that even more fun challenges are in the works, with potential rewards underway, too. Here's hoping new Shift codes drop soon. Our own Borderlands 4 review describes the game as "undeniably an excellent looter shooter," so it's safe to say that such rewards are just the cherry on top of one of the best Borderlands games.

Playing through the new action RPG yourself? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips for a smooth start in Kairos.

Borderlands 4 got a chunky new patch today that added a console FOV slider and performance tweaks, but Gearbox says it's receiving complaints about stability and has some advice for those players.

Despite the critical success of Borderlands 4, players far and wide have been griping about performance issues, particularly on PC, since the game's launch. Today's update was partially intended as yet another measure to address some of those problems, but as PC Gamer reports, apparently it just made them worse for some people.

You don't have to spend a long time in Borderlands communities on Steam, Reddit, and X to find reports from players seeing a reduction in frame rate and increase in stuttering after today's update, which was enough to get a response from Gearbox, who wrote on X:

"We've received reports that some players are experiencing reduced stability after downloading today's update."

Gearbox advised, "stuttering issues should resolve over time as the shaders continue to compile in the background while playing. If you're still experiencing issues after 15 minutes of continuous play, you can also clear your shader cache via your video card manufacturer's approved method."

Of course, since Gearbox seems to be referencing PC gamers specifically here, there's about a million variables at play that could be entirely hardware-related, but personally, 15 minutes seems like a long time to have to deal with stuttering and frame rate dips depending on the intensity.

Regardless, Gearbox says "if you continue to experience issues," just submit a support ticket here and they'll help you troubleshoot.

Meanwhile, Gearbox has "too many Vault Hunter buffs" planned for Borderlands 4, creative director says, so a separate update is "targeting" next week

On the heels of today's big Borderlands 4 patch, which brought a console FOV slider and myriad performance fixes, creative director Graeme Timmins teased an upcoming patch filled with buffs.

"As a note, we had too many Vault Hunter buffs to safely fit into today's big update," Timmins said on Twitter. "Instead, we broke [them up] into their own balance update that we're targeting to release early next week instead."

Assuming the timing holds, "early next week" would put this patch around September 28 - October 1 or so.

It's exciting to hear that "too many" buffs to safely be contained in one patch are on the way, as I know fans of all four Vault Hunters are hoping to see several skill tree branches and play styles brought closer to the level of the dominant meta builds. There will always be a best option, but a tighter range means more options that feel powerful.

That being said, while Timmins also previously committed to preserving the fun of ridiculous builds on the grounds that "looters are made to be broken," we can't necessarily rule out some nerfs coming in this patch as well. It sounds like it's buff-first, if nothing else, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few standout skills or synergies are toned down to compensate for this apparent truckload of buffs.

Borderlands 4 Siren Vex, for instance, was dubbed "the strongest Vault Hunter in the entire series" by some as a result of a strange bleed damage interaction. I wouldn't be surprised if that kind of thing is reined in a bit. (And as a Vex main, as long as bleed stays relevant, I wouldn't complain.) But hey, maybe it is just a shot of buffs and nothing else.

Speaking of which: Borderlands 4 player accidentally finds busted Torgue gun that obliterates enemy health bars so fast it triggers "total existence failure" – "Every instance of damage goes up to 300,000."

A new Borderlands 4 update is rolling out today, bringing a highly requested FOV slider for PS5 and Xbox Series X players as well as miscellaneous bug and performance fixes for everyone.

The update is a staggering 11.2GB on PC, and from the patch notes, it sounds like consoles have gotten some hefty downloads of their own.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X FOV slider is the headliner, though Gearbox is quick to warn that "increasing the FOV past the default could cause some dips in performance."

Increasing FOV may hurt a game's performance; it remains to be seen how heavily an expanded FOV may impact Borderlands 4's frame rate. It doesn't need a massive FOV bump on console, for my money, but I don't think anyone wants to pit frames and FOV against each other when plenty of other games give you both.

Additionally, "Vehicle Field of View settings will now be changed for both users when playing in splitscreen."

The good news is that Gearbox says it has "addressed various instances of hitching, low FPS, and crashes" and made various "improvements to stability and performance." Once again, we are lacking specifics here and still need to see the real-world performance.

"We are continuing to investigate and will make further improvements to stability and performance," Gearbox adds, affirming that the battle is not yet over.

Creative director Graeme Timmins separately addressed the highly disruptive memory leak seen on console. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford's suggested workaround of regularly restarting the game shockingly didn't suit everyone.

"We believe we've made significant improvements there, but we're still investigating data to make sure any remaining issues continue to be resolved," he said on Twitter. "We're confident that today's update makes a big difference though, and we're excited to get feedback/data on it."

With this being a weekly update, the encore boss, black market vending machine, and wildcard mission have been rotated, serving up new loot for players who hunt them down.

A few balance changes were thrown in, too, and everyone can let out that breath because it seems nobody has been majorly nerfed. A few abilities, like Harlowe's Ground State capstone and Amon's Firewall skill, have been "corrected" to ensure intended behavior, but that seems to be it.

The balance changes are mostly bug fixes, like one that stops Harlowe from healing the enemies or another targeting inconsistent buff uptime on Vex. Borderlands 4 creative director Graeme Timmins said Gearbox is monitoring balance discourse, but isn't looking to patch out anyone's busted build right now, and so far players are free to go hog-wild with guns that deal so much damage the game can't even quantify it.

In fact, there's a blanket buff to specific weapons in this patch. Tediore weapons received 10% more damage and magazine size, suggesting players weren't really vibing with them.

Under visual fixes, Gearbox confirmed that "carryable objects" for various quest objectives should stop "disappearing or appearing in the wrong location after being picked up." Personally, I'm waiting for a fix to the 'all your guns are invisible now and enemies don't have health bars' problem that I've run into many, many times on PC.

Here are all the Borderlands 4 Shift Codes and how to redeem them for Golden Keys.

This can't be right, but: a Borderlands 4 player has somehow discovered an astronomically overpowered weapon that dissolves enemies faster than you can say "please don't patch this."

It was an accident, says YouTuber NickTew, who was having inconsequential fun trying to optimize his Vex, the Borderlands 4 Siren, when he "stumbled across an interaction that allows you to effectively just one-shot any boss" while taking advantage of a Torgue gun's sticky round mode.

"My damage was so high," NickTew says in his guide video for a "BROKEN Infinite Damage Build," which you can watch below, "that I, for the first time ever, saw the damage proc 'TOTAL EXISTENCE FAILURE!'"

According to NickTew, there's no specific gun you need to summon the criminal strength he discovered, but whatever you use will need to allow Torgue sticky mode and a Taser as its Alt Fire.

Guns manufactured by Torgue have sticky capability, which lets you glue bullets to enemies in bulk, giving you a huge damage boost once you detonate them all upon reloading, or after a timer runs out. Then, the Taser seems to increase sticky mode's effectiveness when used on "any fast-firing weapon," says NickTew, like an SMG.

He demonstrates, emptying a sticky magazine onto enemies before switching to his Taser, reloading, and "boom," he says, "every instance of damage goes up to 300,000. We even got one that went up to the 600,000 mark there."

This has to be a bug, right?

"I don't see a world where this isn't a bug," says a comment with over 200 likes on NickTew's video. Yeah, that tracks.

Borderlands 4 devs have "seen the discourse" about OP builds, but they're "looking at our first round of buffs" instead of nerfs – and fans are thrilled: "Looters are made to be broken."

Borderlands 4 creative director Graeme Timmins says the recently announced Switch 2 version delay was "the right decision."

This comes as Borderlands 4 players continue to deal with performance issues, particularly on PC, with Timmins promising more updates following a meaty 758MB patch aimed largely at addressing these issues.

To be clear, the official reasoning for the delay is still that Gearbox simply needs more time to polish the game and "align this release with the addition of cross saves," but it's worth noting the above for context.

Replying to Gearbox's delay announcement on X, Timmins said: "A tough decision, but ultimately the right decision. Quality matters and a delay is the appropriate call."

While neither Timmins nor Gearbox official have linked the delay to performance issues on other consoles and PC, it's natural to side-eye the Switch 2 version when other, more powerful platforms are already struggling with stability.

The Switch 2 version of Borderlands 4 doesn't have a new release date after Gearbox delayed it indefinitely from its original October 3 date.

There are plenty of examples of big, technically demanding AAA games running miraculously well on Switch. From my experience, The Witcher 3 and Alien Isolation have absolutely no business looking and running as smoothly as they do on a mobile platform, but here we are. Gearbox has the potential to do the same with Borderlands 4 on Switch 2, and if that requires a delay to stick the landing, so be it. I just hope the new date isn't too far off.

Borderlands 4 is hitting at a perfect time with Destiny's lull – and I hope Bungie takes the hint

Borderlands 4 on Switch 2 has been delayed and will no longer be launching on October 3 as originally planned. At the moment, there is no new release date and Gearbox says all pre-orders of Borderlands 4 on Switch 2 will be canceled automatically on September 26 if you don't do so yourself before then. As for physical, "please reach out to the corresponding retailer."

In a post on X, Gearbox says Borderlands 4's Switch 2 launch is being delayed simply because it's "committed to ensuring we deliver the best possible experience to our fans, and the game needs additional development and polish time to do that."

"Our hope is to also better align this release with the addition of cross saves, which we are working on and recognize is very important," adds Gearbox. "We will update you all on the new release timing once we've fully adjusted our plans."

Despite largely positive reviews, Borderlands 4 players have been experiencing performance issues since launch, particularly on PC. It's unclear if the Switch 2 delay is related in any way, but you can only imagine optimization is even trickier on a mobile platform like the Switch 2 compared to more powerful consoles and PC.

It's hard not to look at this news and feel some sense of irony at Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford's previous animated antics about Borderlands 4's earlier than expected release on Switch 2. Back in July when Gearbox announced the October launch date, Pitchford made a big show of the whole thing in a bizarre video in which he said "I know you're worried" about the Switch 2 version before excitedly announcing the date and saying things like, "WOOOO! BAH BAH BAH!" and, "I'm psyched. GET IT!!!"

Hopefully, a new release date is revealed in short order and it's not too far off from the original.

Borderlands 4 speedrunner begs devs "please don't patch this" after discovering time-saving new strategy, only for the looter shooter's creative director to say he's "got my eye on this"

Borderlands 4 is finally here, and players have spent nearly two weeks now discovering its most powerful vault hunter builds – builds that Gearbox assures won't actually be nerfed yet, as the developers instead focus on rolling out new buffs.

Creative director Graeme Timmins states as much in a new online post following circulating threads about so-called "broken" or "overpowered" Borderlands 4 builds – from Vex being dubbed "the strongest vault hunter in the entire series" to silly speedrunning strategies – and much to players' delight, such "unintended" ways of playing won't be targeted with nerfs right now. In fact, Timmins says Gearbox has some buffs up its sleeve.

"We've seen the discourse about builds that use unintended interactions and/or the knife," he writes. "We're not going to act on those immediately; instead, we're looking at our first round of buffs."

That doesn't mean future nerfs aren't a possibility, however. As Timmins admits, "those will get addressed, but we're going to start with underperforming gear/skills first." It's safe to say the Borderlands 4 community is sighing a breath of relief.

"Devs recognizing priorities in a non-competitive PvE game," as one player responds, "is this real life?" Another excitedly asks, "Buffs before nerfs?" Elsewhere, a fan amusingly replies, "Hell yeah, this is the soul of the genre. Looters are made to be broken, and answered with even harder content that drops even more broken loot." It might be funny, but judging by the comments, it seems like most would agree with that sentiment.

This rings especially true considering the Borderlands series' history. Nerfs were a cause of contention within the community after they rolled out for entries like Borderlands 3 and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. As YouTuber Moxsy states in a response to Timmins, "This is such a huge W. Massive nerfs hitting Wonderlands & BL3 on launch caused huge outrage and frustration in the community. Love to see this direction."

Some players don't ever want to see their favorite builds nerfed, though. As one comments, "Here's a thought. If people are having fun with their broken builds, why take that fun away? I'm not ruining anyone else's fun either. Just as you said, focus on buffs to other things. There's no need to act on any of those nerfs you have in mind. Buff the other things." I get it, as a fan of being OP in-game myself – but it's likely Gearbox will fix what it feels it should.

Here's hoping the buffs prove impressive to fans – and nerfs remain a distant possibility. Our own Borderlands 4 review describes the game as "undeniably an excellent looter shooter," so it's safe to say that it may just stand as one of the best Borderlands games.

Playing through the new action RPG yourself? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips for a smooth start in Kairos.

Borderlands 4's first big console patch is "coming," but its creative director says that despite Gearbox's best efforts, "it just takes longer" to push updates to consoles.

Responding to a popular Borderlands 4 speedrunning exploit shown off on Twitter, Graeme Timmins said, "I've got my eye on this," should it prove to cause tech issues. In response, he was asked whether that potential balance pass would apply to console - PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of Borderlands 4 are yet to receive the relatively small PC patch that dropped last week.

To that, Timmins reminded fans that "console testing and certification is more involved [than] pushing out PC builds." That's because while it's often possible to simply push a new update out to Steam or Epic users, Microsoft and Sony have certification processes that slow that process down considerably. That's why early access games are much more common on PC than they are on console, for instance, or why an update like Stardew Valley 1.6 came to consoles six weeks after it dropped on PC.

For impatient Borderlands 4 fans, that might not be super helpful, but Timmins says "it just takes longer" for console companies to make sure "we're sending out good quality patches." Regardless, he says, "it's coming and we're doing everything we can to make it happen quickly."

Elswhere, Timmins has promised that the Borderlands 4 console patch will offer some "great fixes," but it's tough to imagine that PC hasn't been at the forefront of the studio's mind since launch. Performance issues have marred what's been an otherwise pretty successful launch, and they attracted some serious attention from Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford, who went as far as offering advice to individual players on social media.

Performance issues aside, check out our Borderlands 4 review to see what we thought of the game or browse our top Borderlands 4 tips if you're already playing.

Now that Borderlands 4 has been out in the wild for over a week, the looter shooter's players have found all sorts of creative ways to "break" the game and make things easier – including one new speedrunning strategy that lets you traverse the map at top speed.

Content creator "Admiral Bahroo" highlights the method in an online post. "Speedrunning Borderlands 4 is gonna be insane with Cricket Jumping," he writes. "Just clear entire sections of the map with a quick hop." Adding a quick "please don't patch this" aimed at Gearbox, Bahroo attaches a clip of said "Cricket Jumping" in action – and it's pretty wild. What's more, it's not exactly difficult to pull off as long as you've got the Noisy Cricket pistol.

All you have to do, as Bahroo describes, is "line yourself up with where you want to go in reverse, tab out of the game, and then fire." Once you do, you'll go flying backwards into the sky, effectively traveling at a much higher speed than via vehicle or walking. It's the perfect way to get around for speedrunners (and players wanting to zoom about Kairos seamlessly) – but it might not be around forever, as Bahroo's video has caught a developer's eye.

Writing in response to Bahroo's thread, creative director Graeme Timmins admits, "I've got my eye on this." He isn't looking to patch it just to rain on the community's parade, however. "My only worry is streaming issues or if this introduces instability. Not out to ruin people's fun, but can't have it cause tech issues."

The dev won't be taking any action yet, though: "For now, tho, not going to do anything until proven issues arise."

It's a fair assessment – fix things if they need to be fixed for stability, but not to "ruin" fans' fun with the looter shooter. Players seem content with Timmins' reply, too, with Bahroo himself responding, "W dev." Another person writes, "We love this." Elsewhere, someone aptly says, "Love this response. If it's not causing games to crash or game-breaking glitches, let people fly around with the subsonic gun."

Here's hoping the Noisy Cricket jump stays – but doesn't break things. Our own Borderlands 4 review describes the game as "undeniably an excellent looter shooter," so it's safe to say that aside from performance-related issues, it stands as one of the best Borderlands games.

Playing through the new action RPG yourself? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips for a smooth start in Kairos.

Borderlands 4's creative director, Graeme Timmins, has promised fans that more updates focused on tackling the game's performance woes are in the works.

Borderlands 4 is out, but PC performance issues have dampened an otherwise mega-launch for the looter shooter blockbuster. Noise about the wonky performance got so loud, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford had a pretty public crashout over comparisons between Borderlands 4 and Cyberpunk 2077's infamous launch state (ouch), and insisted "less than one percent of one percent" of players are reporting "valid performance issues."

So Gearbox was quick to release the first of a zillion weekly updates just yesterday with a ton of changes, performance improvements included for PC players. And Timmins is quick to promise folks that the developer's work on performance doesn't stop there, recently tweeting that there's still "more in the pipe."

"I don't like promising a timeline, then something happening, then not meeting that timeline," the creative director writes, responding to a question about stability on consoles. "It's our P1 and we'll release a console update soon as it's ready. We have some great fixes in the console patch, but we gotta test it, and make sure it's good to go."

In a follow-up response, the Borderlands 4 head explains that the team isn't pushing out patches on a fast food conveyor belt because the studio could risk introducing new issues by being hasty. "It's only in our best interest to get patches that improve the experience for our players out to them as quickly as we can. But we gotta do our homework and test stuff to make sure we don't introduce problems," he said.

Be sure to take a look at our Borderlands 4 review if you've not picked up Gearbox's latest looter shooter. Meanwhile, if you're already exploring Kairos, you can read our Borderlands 4 tips.

In a game with infinite loot, to the tune of billions of guns, it should be little surprise that Borderlands 4 players are already breaking the game. Yet it's still pretty impressive just how willing the game is to distribute loot that'll let you absolutely destroy literally any enemy you come across with little more than a purple shotgun at your side.

It is, in fairness, a very specific purple shotgun: a Scattering QuincunX Stellium with an energy disc alt fire. As YouTuber Moxsy demonstrates in the intro to the video below, this thing can make damage numbers go brrr to such a degree that it'll wreck even an Ultimate Vault Hunter rank five in a second. It even literally makes a brrr noise while the damage hits.

The shotgun needs a Jakobs ricochet part, and you'll also need a crit knife to complete the build. While you at least don't need to grind for a legendary to put this build together, these are still some fairly rare rolls to find. Moxsy recommends trying to locate them while farming for whatever other legendaries you might want for your build.

Still, this weapon doesn't need any other gear or particular skill point distribution to do its work, as Moxsy says "nothing's going to take really more than one shot." The video description calls this "the most broken weapon in Borderlands 4," and I don't think there's much reason to dispute that characterization.

And hey, who needs any of Borderlands 4's other 29,999,999,999 guns when this one is going to do the job? "We kind of knew going in that there's no way that this system was going to be totally balanced because it's literally infinite possibilities, and this particular possibility seems to break the game," Moxsy says.

Borderlands 4 places reasonably well in our ranking of the best Borderlands games, but you already know what's on top.

Borderlands 4 has a fairly sizable new update on PC that works out some performance kinks, addresses issues that could halt progression, and introduces the first of many "minor" weekly updates.

Clocking in at 758 MB, the new Borderlands 4 update, per the Steam changelog, "improves stability on PC, smooths out progression, and updates the Gilded Glory Pack loot and rewards for a more seamless experience."

Each week, seemingly until the inevitable heat death of the universe, Borderlands 4 will introduce a new Weekly Big Encore Boss, "a tougher variant of an existing boss with an even more rewarding loot pool," as well as new Wildcard Missions with guaranteed Legendary drops, and a new location for Maurice's Black Market Vending Machine, which offers different items for every player.

For performance, the update is aimed at addressing various crashes related to animations, audio, collision, and GPU use. There are also some gameplay and progression fixes, including one that targets "an issue where the Reward Center could stop working after claiming the Gilded Glory Pack rewards," and another aimed at "a progression blocker in the mission 'Talk to Zadra,' where the objective could fail if players exited and relaunched mid-dialogue."

If you're among the Borderlands 4 players seeing a "doesn't own DLC" warning on non-DLC gear, that should be fixed too.

Finally, loot pools have been updated "so Gilded Glory Pack guns no longer appear in standard chests."

Borderlands 4's performance on PC has been a thorn in its side since its release last week, even if Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford insists "less than one percent of one percent" of PC players are reporting "valid performance issues" through customer support. Something makes me think this isn't the last performance-related PC patch that Borderlands 4 players will have to download.

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford continues to crash out over Borderlands 4 as fans compare the new game's PC performance to Battlefield 6 and Cyberpunk 2077: "Would you like help tuning?"

The recent Borderlands 4 launch saw Gearbox Software's new game smashing series records in under 24 hours – but nonetheless, it's been a rocky past couple of days for the community.

That's partly because studio co-founder Randy Pitchford has taken to social media to argue against reports of less-than-optimal performance for PC players, responding to fans' complaints with so-called "tuning" advice – often argumentative and defensive. Saying "less than one percent of one percent" of reports were "valid performance issues" via customer support, he even instructed unhappy fans to "please get a refund" and shot down comparisons to Battlefield 6.

It seems that, unfortunately, Pitchford isn't quite done replying to disappointed players yet, as he left another seemingly frustrated response just last night. In it, he admits that he provided an impossible suggestion to a fan, in which he told them to turn the fog setting "off" in-game – an option that people pointed out doesn't actually exist. "Oops. You are correct," writes the lead. "The bottom setting for fog is 'low,' not 'off.'"

He doesn't stop there, though (sadly). "The mistake was innocent and there's a story behind it, but I think it is more fun for you to skewer me over it," Pitchford doubles down. "Reducing the volumetric fog option will increase FPS for most configurations with a 5080." To no one's surprise, the community isn't exactly thrilled with this new interaction.

One person comments, "I have fixed your tweet," deleting everything Pitchford wrote after "there's a story behind it" before going on to say, "now please stop digging yourself a hole, let your software engineers actually do their job and fix the performance." They explain that although the "game is good," the studio head's "constant tweeting about it is hurting it." Somebody else simply states, "Dude, for the love of God, stop tweeting."

Here's hoping things settle down. Our own Borderlands 4 review describes the new Gearbox title as "undeniably an excellent looter shooter," so it's safe to say that aside from these online hiccups and performance issues, it could stand as one of the best Borderlands games.

Playing through the new action RPG yourself? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips for a smooth start in Kairos.

Borderlands 4's launch has been a somewhat mixed bag. Despite positive critic reviews and quickly beating the entire series' concurrent player record on Steam, things have been dampened by complaints about the looter shooter's performance, especially on PC. Now, though, Gearbox says improving this "is our top priority."

In a message posted on the official Borderlands Twitter account, fans are thanked for their support, as the devs say, "it's been incredible watching millions dive into Kairos and forge connections with new Vault Hunters." The team is acutely aware of the complaints, however, noting that "we're reading every piece of feedback you share," and "we've already begun to take action" on a couple of main points.

"We know some PC players are running into bugs and crashes. We hear you," the statement continues. "Updates to improve stability and performance already started rolling out over the weekend and another is coming this Thursday. This is our top priority." So, it sounds like we can expect more improvements as soon as today, September 18.

Beyond this, "a Field of View (FOV) slider option for consoles is in testing right now and more information is coming very soon on that," which is sure to be a relief for the players who've been crying out for that. In addition, "some console players have reported concerns with performance and we're investigating those with planned updates coming."

It's not clear if this is referring to the potential memory leak issue on consoles, which has Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford advising players to "quit game and restart" as a "workaround until we patch," but there's clearly a fix in the works for that, too.

"We value your feedback and are committed to delivering an incredible Borderlands 4 experience for all players," the statement concludes. "Thank you."

Not picked up Gearbox's new looter shooter yet? Be sure to take a look at our Borderlands 4 review. If you're already exploring Kairos, you can read our Borderlands 4 tips for some extra help.

Gearbox Software's just-released Borderlands 4 seems to keep slamming into performance problems on PS5 Pro – but remain calm. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says there's an easy temporary fix: "Quit game and restart."

Jumping ship is the best "workaround until we patch," he says in a post on Twitter, which also explains that Borderlands 4's performance on PS5 Pro degrades the longer you play the looter shooter.

"Known issue of perf dropping on PS5 pro after several hours of continuous play," Pitchford says. "Sorry for the friction!"

Numerous Borderlands 4 players have been documenting this ongoing hiccup, demonstrating in videos that playing the game for several hours in a row substantially drops its frame rate. To this, Borderlands 4 creative director Graeme Timmins writes on Twitter that Gearbox devs "are investigating" what some players guess could be a memory leak issue.

"We are pretty sure we have an idea here, but nothing to confirm," says Timmins. In another post, Timmins responds to a Borderlands 4 player asking "if team is aware of the memory leak causing us to restart the game every hour."

"We've already confirmed that we're investigating these issues," he replies. "Nothing to share, but we're working on it."

Borderlands 4 isn't exactly living a charmed existence on other platforms either, though Pitchford tells PC players frustrated by the game's performance to realize "a lot of you are dead set on playing at 4k with ultra max settings and using two or three year old hardware."

"We all have different targets," Pitchford wrote on Twitter. "The game will probably be cheaper in a couple of years, too."

PSA: Borderlands 4 has a progress-erasing bug with players reporting lost skill points upon crashes and multiplayer disconnections, but Gearbox is looking into it.

Borderlands 4 has proven to be pretty popular if the game's stats over the first weekend are to be believed.

You may think Borderlands 4 isn't doing so hot as Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has been crashing out on Twitter for three days straight with everything from, your expectations are just too high, "please get a refund from Steam if you aren't happy," and cutting off comparisons to Battlefield 6 and Cyberpunk 2077. However, that's not exactly the case, as the game's Steam launch gave the series its highest player count in under 24 hours. And from a look at some stats released by the developers, it's probably doing even better than we know.

The Borderlands Twitter account released a graphic showing off some stats from Borderlands 4's launch weekend. While there weren't any of the usual metrics, you did get some interesting stats like the number of items looted from outhouses (1,530,586), the amount of grenade-related deaths (4,563,416), and the number of miles driven across the map (40,476,938.44). Gearbox also broke down just how many boss fights there were, with 62,718,658 attempts. And in a show of community strength, only 16,220,852 of those failed.

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford added – in what was probably his first non-argument tweet in a few days – that "Holy bananas, you guys played a LOT of Borderlands 4 over the weekend. The backend on-line services all held, which is what we hoped would happen!" Gearbox has also offered Borderlands 4 Shift Codes to players as a thanks for unleashing "SO MUCH mayhem during Borderlands 4's launch weekend."

Have you picked up Borderlands 4 yet? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips if you're starting your journey soon.

Borderlands 4's creative director has responded to certain concerns about the looter shooter's Ultimate Vault Hunter endgame mode, noting that "endgame is supposed to be earned/tough, so we like the challenge."

After you finish Borderlands 4's main campaign, you're able to unlock the Ultimate Vault Hunter mode, which allows you to start with a new character – already at level 30 – and skip the campaign. Additionally, completing the campaign for the first time unlocks the new Specialization skill tree, providing you with even more perks.

However, not everything carries over with the Ultimate Vault Hunter mode – namely, the map is wiped of things like fast travel points and landmarks. That's not to mention the fact that you're thrown into the mode with an unfinished character build. These are two concerns raised by Forbes writer Paul Tassi, and echoed by others on Twitter.

"The trade-off for skipping the story and 30 levels but still starting with basically nothing is kind of off-putting," one player writes. "I started with Rafa as well and then started a Vex and was kind of disappointed when I realized the task that lie ahead of me."

"The start at lvl 30 feels very underwhelming," another agrees, adding that you may as well "just burn through the campaign again" if you have to unlock things regardless.

Responding, creative director Graeme Timmins explains that "our goal was to provide a canvas for you to re-explore the world (and earn SDUs [Storage Deck Upgrades] while doing so), level to 50, do your UVH [Ultimate Vault Hunter] ranks challenges, and use your campaign mission rewards to jump start a build to try/experiment with."

Replying to the suggestion that perhaps the experience could be improved if fast travel points carried over into the endgame mode, as well as the question of why Specialization points aren't shared across different characters, Timmins continues: "Any fast travels that are unlocked as part of the campaign (HUBs, a couple safe houses) are unlocked, but they need to be revealed from beneath the fog. We're still looking at other options.

"For Specializations, we wanted players to really specialize their individual characters. We got feedback in previous games that the account-wide stuff gave power boosts to players who wanted natural playthroughs. And now all characters get that Level Up moment more frequently."

Although Timmins argues that "end game is supposed to be earned/tough, so we like the challenge," he still appears to suggest that adjustments could potentially be made if players are seriously unhappy. "We're always watching the community's reaction to the game," he adds. So, who knows, perhaps Gearbox might make some changes in updates to come.

Be sure to check out our Borderlands 4 review if you've not picked up Gearbox's new looter shooter yet, as well as our Borderlands 4 tips to help you get started.

Although the recent Borderlands 4 launch saw Gearbox Software's new game smashing series records in under 24 hours, it's been a rocky few days for the community as studio co-founder Randy Pitchford argues against complaints of poor performance... and now, comparisons to other titles.

The situation started after reports of less-than-optimal performance for PC players sprouted up online, on storefronts like Steam and social media – including X, where Pitchford has been responding to complaints with advice, albeit in an arguably defensive tone. Stating that "less than one percent of one percent" of PC players reported "valid performance issues" via customer support, he instructed unhappy fans to "please get a refund" for the game.

Unfortunately, his very public crashout didn't end there. Pitchford has continued to reply to disappointed players – and apparently, still is. Following up on his initial thread on PC players, which has since turned into a massive mess of back and forth, the Gearbox lead tells a fan they're being "dishonest" in a new response.

"This isn't the situation, and you are being dishonest," Pitchford tells the player, who was questioning the developer's recommendations to hit higher FPS with a 5080 GPU. "If your priority is FPS, then use the tools to get higher FPS. If your priority is input latency, then you make other decisions. If your priority is graphics features or resolution, there are trade-offs. My choices will be different than yours. The options are there."

The studio head also rejects comparisons between Borderlands 4 and other new games, like Battlefield 6, writing in a follow-up to a fan who says the online title from EA ran better for them than the looter shooter, "I would absolutely expect BF6 to be built to prioritize FPS more than BL4. One is a competitive shooter, the other is a campaign looter shooter. Would you like help tuning with your personal specifications?"

Pitchford responds to other notable comparisons, too, like one player's, which points out that Cyberpunk 2077 runs on their PC in "ultra" with 60 FPS. "Cyberpunk is a different piece of software and is five years old. You are welcome to play it. You can also get help tuning your balance between FPS, resolution, and features with BL4 if you like. Would you like help tuning with your personal specifications?"

Similarly, Pitchford tells another fan, "Cyberpunk is a different piece of software. You are welcome to play it. You can also get help tuning your balance between FPS, resolution, and features with BL4 if you like. Would you like help tuning with your personal specifications?" Yep, almost a copy-paste situation – word-for-word "advice" and dubbing Cyberpunk 2077 a "different," older "piece of software."

Other posts from Pitchford on the thread see him assuring players, "With high-end, modern hardware, it's absolutely possible to get well over 100 FPS with this game," further saying, "Not everyone has the same priorities between frame rate, resolution, and graphics features, which is why we make the options." Things are… a bit all over the place, putting it lightly, and it's safe to say that fans aren't exactly thrilled with the Gearbox boss' replies.

Here's hoping things smooth over. Our own Borderlands 4 review describes the new Gearbox title as "undeniably an excellent looter shooter," so it's safe to say that aside from these online hiccups and performance issues, it could stand as one of the best Borderlands games.

Playing through the new action RPG yourself? Be sure to check our Borderlands 4 tips for a smooth start in Kairos.

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford uses hate for fuel.

Pitchford is no stranger to negativity online, in part due to his own infamously unfiltered internet presence, but his perspective on the matter is relatively unique: Just like The Beatles, you just gotta let it be, and tell yourself, "I feel fine," because all you need is love.

Talking to GamesRadar+, Pitchford admits not everything he's made has been a huge hit with his fans. It's important to note, though, that this interview was conducted during Gamescom 2025, before Borderlands 4 launched, so his comments have nothing to do with, uh, more recent controversial statements he's made on social media.

In this case, Pitchford responds to a question about potential backlash to Borderlands 4's pricing, which ended up being a more acceptable $70 than the $80 many feared. Regardless, he goes on a brief tangent where he seemingly compares his self-admitted inconsistent body of work to The Beatles, as one does. To be fair, he also compares it to a six-year-old's fridge drawings.

"Everybody that's ever done anything goes into it like, 'I want to do the best job I can and try hard,' whether you're drawing a picture with crayons at six years old that's going to go on the refrigerator, to being The Beatles and writing 'Let It Be,' you know.

And the truth is, I freaking love The Beatles," Pitchford says. "But also, there's some songs they've made that in my opinion – and this is just totally subjective – some of the stuff is unlistenable. So what do I want them to do because they made an unlistenable song? To me. 'Never make music again?' No, make more, because you might make another 'Let It Be.'"

Whether or not Borderlands 4 is Gearbox's "Let It Be," Pitchford says he doesn't let negative feedback get in the way of his creativity, arguing rightfully that hate is a form of passion, and that, generally, if someone is hating, they care to some degree.

"And so I just think we don't worry about the hate," he says. "That's actually a different form of love. If someone's commenting, they're invested, man, they care. They've spent their time, because it takes time to post. It takes time to stop our day and get involved in something. So I use that as fuel. Let's make more. And all of us should do that."

There's no telling how Pitchford's comments might differ with the post-launch perspective of Borderlands 4 sitting a very respectable 84 on Metacritic, although it seems that no matter how well his games are received, he just can't help responding to criticism. Maybe he should take his own advice and just, let it be.

Borderlands 4 boss tells players "please get a refund from Steam if you aren't happy" as Randy Pitchford continues his very public crashout over the FPS's performance woes

Borderlands 4 players are reporting a glitch that sees you lose all of your skill points, but Gearbox is looking into it.

A user on Reddit reported this issue happening out of the blue, saying: "Played last night to level 10. Logged in today to play and noticed my action skill was missing and saw that my character has zero points invested even though he's level 10 and I definitely put points into the tree last night." Fellow players in the comments are also reporting the same problem.

However, some have realized the issue has to do with disconnections, as one Twitter user reports that they "made the mistake" of quitting the game after seeing their skill points missing when they joined a multiplayer session, and are now "in mourning" after their Amon was "robbed of all his power." They continue: "PSA FOR #Borderlands4 – If you join someone's game, or load into your game, and your skill points don't load in, DO NOT QUIT. ALT+F4 IMMEDIATELY."

Gearbox has a support page for the issue, saying: "Players may lose skill points after disconnecting and re-joining a multiplayer session, or crashing in single player. In these instances, they have lost all or most of their skill points. Leveling up more and using the Respec machine do not restore the lost skill points." However, while there's no fix yet, it is "being investigated."

It's also unconfirmed if players will be able to regain their missing points after losing them once the fix is live. But to be on the safe side, maybe follow the Alt+F4 solution given by the Twitter user if you experience a disconnection or crash.

While you're here, you can check out our Borderlands 4 review, as well as our Borderlands 4 tips for some pointers to get you started.

Baldur's Gate 3's publishing director Michael Douse has commented on the ongoing Randy Pitchford crashout, and is pretty conflicted on it.

Borderlands 4 launched to a series best launch on Steam, but despite that, PC performance issues have been the main point of discussion among fans, and more importantly from Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford, who hasn't stopped tweeting about them. Pitchford has been saying some definitely-not-PR-approved lines, including "I bet you have emotions and expectations that you feel aren't sufficiently attended to," and "please get a refund from Steam if you aren't happy,"

Responding to this, one Twitter user argues: "Let Uncle Randy free! I don't want a Corpo, HR approved boilerplate response," to which the Larian publishing director says: "I agree! It's nice to see a man let his freak flag fly."

However, it's not as simple as finding the ongoing crashout funny and interesting, because as Douse notes, "I feel bad for his teams who are just trying really hard to make players happy." Which, considering the Borderlands 4 boss told players "please get a refund" and "if you're not happy using the tools available to you to improve frame rate and you're not happy with the frame rate you have, you should play a different game," that follow-up is even more pertinent.

While I do somewhat agree with Douse that it's nice to see a developer being able to speak freely in a way that doesn't feel like boilerplate PR speak, Pitchford's Twitter rants have definitely blown things up from being your standard bad PC performance complaints to a bit of a show.

Be sure to check out our Borderlands 4 review, as well as our Borderlands 4 tips if you're just getting started.