Borderlands 4 Players “Get a Refund”
The launch of Borderlands 4, one of the most anticipated games of the year, has been marred by significant performance problems, particularly on PC. While players have expressed frustration over crashes and unstable framerates, the response from Gearbox Software’s CEO, Randy Pitchford, has ignited a separate firestorm.
Instead of promising swift fixes, Pitchford has taken a confrontational approach. In response to a player who detailed their struggle to get the game running acceptably, the CEO suggested they should “please get a refund from Steam if you aren’t happy with it.”
The controversy stems from a series of posts on a social media platform where Pitchford engaged directly with critics. He argued that “every PC gamer must accept the reality of the relationship between their hardware and what the software they are running is doing,” placing the onus on players and their PC setups rather than on the game’s optimization.
He specifically pointed players towards using upscaling technologies like NVIDIA’s DLSS to improve performance, stating, “If you’re not happy using the tools available to you to improve frame rate, and you’re not happy with the frame rate you have, you should play a different game.”
This response has been met with sharp criticism from the gaming community. Many feel the comments are dismissive of legitimate technical problems reported by a large number of players. The game’s “Mixed” rating on Steam and low user score on Metacritic reflect this widespread dissatisfaction.
For players following Pitchford’s advice and seeking a refund, the process on Steam has specific rules. Typically, Valve grants refunds for games with less than two hours of playtime and owned for less than two weeks. However, their policy does state that they will review refund requests that fall outside these guidelines for extenuating circumstances, which can include games that are unplayable due to technical issues.
If your experience with Borderlands 4 has been negatively impacted by persistent performance problems, you can submit a refund request through Steam Support and detail the issues you encountered. While not guaranteed, Steam has been known to make exceptions for faulty products.
Also, Read
- Borderlands 4 Performance Controversy – 68 GPU Settings Revealed as CEO Says “Use DLSS”
- Borderlands 4 Pre-Load Date and Surprisingly Small File Size Revealed
- GTA 6 Aims to Be “Largest Game Launch in History,” Rockstar Job Ad Claims
While Gearbox has released one stability patch since launch, the CEO’s comments have shifted the conversation from the game’s technical state to a debate about how developers should communicate with their player base during a rocky launch.