Borderlands 4 Update Boosts PC Stability, Lacks Patch Notes

Gearbox has rolled out a new update for Borderlands 4 aimed at boosting stability across a broad spectrum of PC configurations. Unfortunately, the studio did not release detailed patch notes for this update, leaving players uncertain about the specific changes it introduced.

Borderlands 4 debuted last week, drawing a peak of more than 300,000 simultaneous players on Steam alone—a record high for any Borderlands title on Valve's platform. Despite this strong launch, the game's Steam reviews are currently "mixed," with many criticisms targeting its PC performance.

In an effort to assist, Gearbox shared a Borderlands 4 Nvidia Optimization guide on Steam, offering tips on how to tweak graphics settings using the Nvidia app for smoother performance and higher frame rates.

The developer also gave PC players a crucial piece of advice, seemingly intended to discourage snap judgments about performance right after changing settings: “Keep in mind that whenever you adjust your graphics settings, your shaders will recompile. We recommend playing for at least 15 minutes to see how performance settles.”

Over the weekend, Gearbox announced a new game update via Steam, but in such vague terms—and again with no patch notes—that players were left guessing what the update actually fixed, and whether it improved performance in any meaningful way. Based on Steam user reviews, results appear inconsistent, though this remains largely anecdotal.

“We hope you’re having an amazing time in Borderlands 4. Our team is thrilled to watch you shoot and loot your way across Kairos,” Gearbox stated. “Today we’re launching a new update to help improve stability on a wider range of PC hardware.”

“There are no patch notes. Is this really just a blog post for an unhelpful optimization guide?” asked Reddit user wtfwasthatdave. Another player, PBKrunch, added, “The patch didn’t stop my game from crashing.” Drummerdude41 commented, “The game still runs terribly, even after the patch. Those who claim it runs smoothly are relying on frame generation and super sampling to hit their target frame rates.”

Borderlands 4: All Vault Hunter Skill Trees Ranked

Borderlands 4: All Vault Hunter Skill Trees Ranked

     

Gearbox reiterated its earlier suggestion to wait at least 15 minutes before judging performance after changing any graphics settings. They explained: “Please note that any time you adjust your graphics settings, your shaders must recompile. This process can take up to 15 minutes to fully complete.”

“Thank you again for joining us on this adventure, Vault Hunters—we're only just beginning,” Gearbox continued. “We’re continuing to monitor your feedback, planning more updates, and will share additional details soon.”

If you're diving into Borderlands 4, be sure to check our regularly updated hourly SHiFT codes list. We also have a detailed interactive map ready and a powerful Borderlands 4 planner tool from our partners at Maxroll. Plus, take a look at which characters our expert players recommend—no two experts made the same choice.