The much-anticipated Borderlands 4 has officially launched, hitting digital shelves a bit early for some eager players. The latest installment from Gearbox, a loot-and-shoot adventure, has seen a surge of players diving in via Steam. Initial engagement metrics are strong, surpassing launch figures for all prior titles in the Borderlands series.
However, the initial wave of Steam user feedback presents a more nuanced picture.
Gearbox’s direction with Borderlands 4, seemingly emphasizing a more grounded experience and moving away from heavy reliance on internet culture-driven humor, appears to resonate with many. Within hours of release, SteamDB data shows the game reached a peak of 207,479 concurrent players on the platform.
Considering the staggered launch times and the initial absence of console availability, these numbers have the potential to increase as the weekend progresses. Even if the peak concurrent player count plateaus, the current figures already exceed those of previous Borderlands games. For comparison, Borderlands 2, a popular predecessor, achieved a peak of 124,678 concurrent players.
Borderlands 4’s strong performance placed it among Steam’s top five most played games, and it’s currently the top-selling title globally on the platform, climbing seven positions this week.
However, not all players are completely satisfied. The game currently holds a “Mixed” user review rating on Steam (based on 5,435 reviews), with approximately 62% of reviewers expressing positive sentiment toward the co-op title.
While some criticism focuses on the game’s narrative and core gameplay elements, many cite technical issues. Frequent and lengthy shader compilation pauses and stuttering related to the Unreal Engine are common complaints. The prevalence of stuttering has led some to jokingly rebrand the game as “Stutterlands 4.”
This situation reflects a recurring trend with Unreal Engine 5-powered games, where technical problems are a significant source of player frustration. Some players now anticipate these issues simply due to the game’s use of Epic’s engine.
Notably, Borderlands 3 also encountered technical difficulties at launch, requiring considerable effort from Gearbox to resolve. It’s plausible that Borderlands 4 will follow a similar trajectory, particularly after the removal of Denuvo. Time will tell whether these issues can be adequately addressed.