After a string of heated exchanges online, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford continues to clash with frustrated Borderlands 4 fans. On Tuesday (16), he went so far as to say that anyone unhappy with the game should simply request a refund.
Speaking bluntly, Pitchford told players:
“You can do whatever you want. The game is the game. Please ask Steam for a refund if you’re not happy with it.”
He also defended the use of performance-boosting tools like DLSS, acknowledging that some fans dislike them but insisting they are necessary for smoother gameplay.
“I’m sorry if you don’t like being told to use DLSS, but that’s the way it is. If you’re not happy with the framerate you get even after using the available tools, maybe this isn’t the game for you,” he said.
According to Pitchford, running Borderlands 4 on PC means players must be ready to balance frame rate, resolution, and graphics settings, making “significant concessions” if they want the game to perform well.
Ongoing Tensions Around Borderlands 4
Since its launch last Friday (12), Borderlands 4 has faced sharp criticism for its technical performance and design choices. Rather than cooling things down, Pitchford’s combative responses have only fueled the fire.
At one point, he even told critics to build their own game engine if they thought they could do better—an exchange that quickly spread across social media.
The controversy comes at a sensitive moment for Gearbox. The studio narrowly avoided closure under former parent company Embracer Group before being acquired by Take-Two Interactive, which also owns Rockstar and 2K Games. While the takeover secured Borderlands 4’s development, the rocky launch has put new pressure on the franchise’s future.
