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Borderlands 4’s September 25, 2025 update was meant to address stability and performance, but Gearbox’s notes also acknowledged reports that some players experienced reduced performance after installing it. Players described lower frame rates and more stuttering; others reported no change or an improvement. The available reports do not establish how many players were affected or show that the update made the game unplayable for everyone.
What happened after the September 25 update?
The update’s changelog listed fixes for hitching, low FPS and crashes, as well as character-animation performance improvements. In the same notice, Gearbox acknowledged that some players were seeing reduced performance after downloading the patch and addressed shader compilation as a possible source of stuttering. The contrast—not proof of a universal failure—is what made the update notable. Gearbox’s September 25 update notes and contemporaneous reporting by PC Gamer describe the issue.
Players reported lower frame rates and increased stuttering on Steam, Reddit and X. The reports were mixed: some players said performance had not changed or had improved. These accounts are complaints, not a representative survey or controlled benchmark, so they cannot establish the share affected or prove that the patch caused every reported problem. One Steam commenter put the frustration bluntly: “What kind of patch is this if performance gets even worse???” That comment is an individual reaction, not a measure of overall player sentiment.
Why did Gearbox point to shader compilation?
When a game compiles shaders, it prepares graphics effects for the player’s hardware. That work can temporarily affect smoothness, and it may recur after updates or graphics-setting changes. Gearbox said: “Stuttering issues should resolve over time as the shaders continue to compile in the background while playing.” Its September 25 notice advised players who still had issues after 15 minutes of continuous play to clear the shader cache using their graphics-card manufacturer’s approved method.
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- BE A BADASS: Become an unstoppable force of battle, blasting through enemies with an all-new arsenal of outrageous weaponry. Move across the Borderlands like never before—double jumping, gliding, dodging, grappling, and more—dealing death from every direction. Explode each encounter with devastating Action Skills that unleash your Vault Hunter's unique abilities. Craft your perfect build with branching skill trees and a deep, rewarding loot chase full of wild weapons and powerful gear.
- FIGHT SOLO OR CO-OP: Wreaking havoc across Kairos is awesome alone and even better with friends in 2-player splitscreen or up to 4-player online co-op.* Borderlands 4 is designed for co-op from the ground up; whether you're hunting for loot, tackling missions, or wandering freely, level scaling and individual difficulty keeps the party together and having fun.
- LESS BORDERS, MORE LANDS: Freely explore a vast and dangerous world rife with warring factions. Hop on your hover bike and ride through lush fields, towering peaks, and deadly deserts full of fearsome enemies, dynamic events, and engaging quests with unforgettable characters. Unite the people of Kairos and ignite a revolution, tackling this adventure however you see fit in a seamless Borderlands experience.
Gearbox’s current PC troubleshooting and optimization guide, updated October 6, 2026, says shader compilation takes about 10 minutes on most PCs. It recommends giving the game at least 15 minutes after changing graphics settings before judging performance, because those changes trigger recompilation. If compilation takes unusually long, the guide advises rebooting.
What to try if Borderlands 4 still stutters or runs slowly
- Allow time for shader compilation. After launching or changing graphics settings, play for at least 15 minutes before deciding whether performance has settled. If compilation appears to take unusually long, restart the PC.
- Clear the shader cache if the problem persists. Gearbox’s September notice and current PC guide describe cache-clearing steps for NVIDIA and AMD systems. Use the current instructions from Gearbox and your graphics-card manufacturer rather than an unapproved utility.
- Check graphics drivers. Gearbox recommends updating them; follow the driver maker’s current installation guidance.
- Test overlays. The support guide notes that overlays can contribute to performance problems or crashes. Temporarily disable them one at a time to see whether the symptom changes.
- Compare like with like. Check frame rate and stutter on the same PC, in the same area and with the same settings before and after a change. Average FPS and frame pacing are different symptoms; a stable average can coexist with noticeable hitching.
Gearbox lists expected results of 1080p at 30 FPS on Low for minimum-spec PCs and 1440p at 60 FPS on Medium for recommended-spec PCs. These are the developer’s stated expectations, not a guarantee for every system or an independent test. The guide also identifies DLSS, FSR, TSR and XeSS as supported upscaling options; their availability and behavior can depend on hardware and settings.
Rank #2
- DELUXE EDITION CONTENT — Includes the Borderlands 4 base game, Firehawk's Fury Weapon Skin, and Bounty Pack Bundle with four separate post-launch DLC packs: Bounty Pack 2, 3, 4, and 5.
- BOUNTY PACK BUNDLE — Explore four unique areas with new missions and a unique boss, plus four Vault Cards, new Vault Hunter cosmetics, four new vehicles with cosmetics, and new Legendary Gear.
- BE A BADASS — Blast through enemies with an arsenal of weapons, use dynamic movement abilities, and unleash your Vault Hunter's Action Skills in intense shooter combat.
- BUILD YOUR VAULT HUNTER — Customize your build with branching skill trees and pursue powerful gear as you take on enemies across Kairos.
- EXPLORE KAIROS — Ride your hover bike across lush fields, towering peaks, and deadly deserts, discovering warring factions, dynamic events, quests, and unforgettable characters.
Did a later update address the problem?
Gearbox’s October 2, 2025 notes said the game would automatically clear stale shaders on version updates, a change intended to prevent performance degradation on some PCs. That later fix should not be confused with the September 25 patch or treated as proof that every affected system was fixed. Read the October 2 notes.
Subsequent performance reports also describe later work, not a controlled retest of the September update. In its December 11, 2025 major update notes, Gearbox reported 9%–20% frame-rate improvements on minimum- and recommended-spec PC hardware. It described work including Profile-Guided Optimization, shader and PSO compilation changes, foliage and lighting optimization, VRAM management, adjustments to AI/NPC spawn counts, and options to disable shadows, volumetric clouds and fog. Gearbox also said further work remained. See the December update notes.
Rank #3
- BE A BADASS: Become an unstoppable force of battle, blasting through enemies with an all-new arsenal of outrageous weaponry. Move across the Borderlands like never before—double jumping, gliding, dodging, grappling, and more—dealing death from every direction. Explode each encounter with devastating Action Skills that unleash your Vault Hunter's unique abilities. Craft your perfect build with branching skill trees and a deep, rewarding loot chase full of wild weapons and powerful gear.
- FIGHT SOLO OR CO-OP: Wreaking havoc across Kairos is awesome alone and even better with friends in 2-player splitscreen or up to 4-player online co-op.* Borderlands 4 is designed for co-op from the ground up; whether you're hunting for loot, tackling missions, or wandering freely, level scaling and individual difficulty keeps the party together and having fun.
- LESS BORDERS, MORE LANDS: Freely explore a vast and dangerous world rife with warring factions. Hop on your hover bike and ride through lush fields, towering peaks, and deadly deserts full of fearsome enemies, dynamic events, and engaging quests with unforgettable characters. Unite the people of Kairos and ignite a revolution, tackling this adventure however you see fit in a seamless Borderlands experience.
- Hall Effect Thumbsticks and Triggers – Contact-free magnetic sensors in the thumbsticks and triggers provide a more fluid pro-level feel to help with precision and longevity
- Low Latency Wireless – Play wirelessly on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows 10/11 using the included Wireless USB Adapter
In a March 2026 status update, Gearbox reported approximately 20% higher average FPS across minimum and recommended specifications compared with launch, alongside better 1% and 0.1% frame-rate lows and reduced hitching. The company attributed gains to GPU, CPU and general-efficiency work. These are developer-reported comparisons, not independent benchmarks of the September 25 patch. Read Gearbox’s PC performance status update.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Includes all four add-on packs released to date (on disc), as well as fold-out gameworld map
- Intense combination of FPS and RPG gameplay with Borderlands' random gun generator provides endless weapon variety
- Tear through the relentless monsters of Pandora with a crew of up to 3 of your friends in multiple modes including split-screen co-op
- Get behind the wheel of and engage in intense vehicle-to-vehicle combat
- Online multiplayer support for up to 4 players
What the reports do—and don’t—show
- Established: Gearbox acknowledged reports of reduced performance after the September 25 update, and players described lower frame rates and more stuttering.
- Not established: The available reporting does not quantify how many players were affected, isolate one cause across systems, or show that the update made the game unplayable for everyone.
- Useful next step: For an individual PC, assess the same scene and settings before and after allowing shader compilation, then test the troubleshooting options above one at a time.
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