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"This is a massive fumble": Borderlands 4 players furious as drop rates are slashed after holiday event, even though Gearbox promises a "longer-term solution"

News
By Anthony McGlynn published 9 January 2026

They're going back to pre-holiday levels

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Borderlands 4
(Image credit: 2K)
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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.

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The drop rates are back to their pre-holiday event percentages! That said, the team saw the positive reception and are investigating a longer-term increase.January 8, 2026

"'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."

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TOPICS
Gearbox Gearbox Software
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PS5 Xbox Series X Platforms PlayStation Xbox
Anthony McGlynn
Anthony McGlynn
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Contributing Writer

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.

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