Gearbox pitched Borderlands 4 as its big return with more spectacle, new classes, and a heavier story.
But the PC release was plagued by stutters, shader hitches, and inconsistent performance even on high-end machines. Steam reviews dipped into “Mixed,” and forums were filled with crash reports.
Problems like these aren’t unusual for a modern AAA launch, and most players know patches can smooth out the rough edges.
The bigger issue is that instead of reassuring fans, Gearbox’s own CEO poured gasoline on the fire.
How Did Randy Handle Player Complaints So Poorly?
As complaints mounted, Randy Pitchford took to social media—not to apologize, but to argue.
He told players they were being “4K stubborn” and suggested that anyone struggling should simply play at 1440p.
In his words, Borderlands 4 was a “premium game made for premium gamers,” and those running older PCs should adjust their expectations.
The analogy he used compared low-spec machines to “a monster truck with a leaf blower’s motor.”
It felt dismissive of frustrated buyers rather than owning the fact that the game wasn’t running as advertised.
The real problem is that Pitchford doesn’t separate his role as a CEO from that of a community manager.
A studio head isn’t supposed to deal with the nitty-gritty and scold players; their job is to steady the ship and let their developers do the talking.
The lowlight was a sarcastic jab at a critic questioning Gearbox’s reliance on upscalers like DLSS. Pitchford shot back: “Code your own engine and show us how it’s done.”
Gamers asked the obvious question—why should paying customers need to prove they can build an engine to deserve a stable product?
When a CEO openly antagonizes their own player base, the focus moves beyond performance issues and lands squarely on the company’s attitude toward its customers.
Why Did Downplaying Complaints Backfire?
Instead of letting the engineers explain the situation, Pitchford doubled down with numbers.
He insisted that less than one percent of players had “valid” performance issues according to customer support tickets.
However, relying on support statistics was a mistake. Most frustrated players don’t file tickets—they leave bad reviews, they vent on Discord, they complain in threads.
The irony is that Borderlands 4 isn’t a bad game at its core. The classes are creative, the world design feels bolder, and there’s still that trademark loot-chasing energy.
The problem is that all of that is being overshadowed. Instead of talking about the mechanics or the story, players are talking about Randy Pitchford’s tweets.
The more he posts, the more the coverage circles back to him. Fans want stability, honesty, and leaders who take feedback seriously.
Pitchford is the problem because he does the opposite. He doesn’t de-escalate; he escalates. He doesn’t reassure, he provokes.
Instead of being the anchor that steadies the launch, he becomes another storm the game has to weather.
Hasn’t Pitchford Always Been This Way?
This isn’t a sudden shift in behavior as Pitchford has built a reputation over the years for putting himself at the center of controversies.
Be it review embargoes, money-making schemes, or old franchise fights, his response has consistently been combative.
Long before Borderlands 4, fans and press alike noticed that he often makes himself the story when things go wrong.
His social media history is littered with defensive tirades, sarcastic replies, and public spats that drown out the voices of the developers doing the actual work.
That reaction to Borderlands 4 isn’t out of character—it lines up with how he’s handled things for years.
The looter-shooter formula is still intact, and the team can absolutely optimize the game over time.
If Gearbox wants Borderlands 4 to be remembered for its vaults instead of its volatility, Pitchford has to stop making himself the problem—because right now, he’s the biggest one the franchise has.
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