Randy Pitchford Tells Unhappy Borderlands 4 Steam Players to Get a Refund

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Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox Entertainment, told a player frustrated with the PC performance of *Borderlands 4* to request a refund. He also reiterated previous advice about using DLSS in the game, and both of these actions have been met with criticism from some fans.

Randy Pitchford, the founder of Gearbox Software, is known for being direct and having a big personality, which has sometimes caused problems over the years. He recently sparked debate when he suggested that dedicated fans would still purchase *Borderlands 4* even if it cost $80. While the game ultimately launched at $70, his comments initially upset some people online.

Borderlands 4 Was ‘Designed To Be Just Fine’ at 30 FPS, Pitchford Says

Randall Pitchford, head of Gearbox, recently told a fan to request a refund for *Borderlands 4*. This came in response to ongoing complaints about the game’s performance. Since the game launched on September 12th, Pitchford has been actively defending its PC performance while also personally helping players improve their settings and achieve smoother gameplay. On September 15th, he responded to a Twitter user named ELDee, who said it took Gearbox days to make *Borderlands 4* playable. Pitchford disagreed and suggested the user get their money back if they weren’t having fun, adding that the game was designed to be enjoyable even at 30 frames per second and to feel excellent at 60fps.

Pitchford Doubles Down on DLSS Advice for Borderlands 4

So, the CEO basically said we PC players *should* be using DLSS – that’s Nvidia’s tech that boosts performance and now even creates extra frames. He was pretty firm about it, saying he doesn’t care if we don’t like hearing it, but that’s his recommendation. Earlier, he even told a fan who wanted *Borderlands 4* to look great natively that they should just build their own engine if they didn’t want to use AI upscaling. It feels like he’s really pushing DLSS as the solution for everything!

DLSS Isn’t a Perfect Solution, But Its Main Issue Doesn’t Apply to Borderlands 4

Video games are using more and more artificial intelligence to improve graphics. However, AI isn’t a magic fix and works best when added to systems that are already running well. For fast-paced games like *Borderlands 4*, features that create extra frames (frame generation) could actually make the game feel worse for players getting less than 30 frames per second because of the slight delay it adds. But currently, every graphics card capable of using this technology is powerful enough to run *Borderlands 4* at a smooth 30 frames per second or higher, so this isn’t a practical concern.

I’m sorry you don’t like being told to use DLSS, but that is the way.

Player complaints about how well Borderlands 4 runs on PCs are impacting its reviews on Steam. Currently, the game is listed as “Mixed” on the platform, based on feedback from almost 19,000 users. Aside from these performance issues, most players enjoy the game and find it replayable, which is reflected in its 84% average score on OpenCritic.

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2025-09-17 02:46