“Borderlands 4” Performs Poorly on Steam Deck

On September 15, news came that Steam Deck HQ released its compatibility report for Borderlands 4 on the Steam Deck (published September 11). The overall verdict was “unplayable.”

The game’s system requirements are relatively high, with a minimum of an Intel Core i7-9700 CPU and an RTX 2070 GPU, which is already a challenge for the lower-powered Steam Deck. So expectations for performance on the handheld weren’t very high to begin with.

However, reality turned out to be even worse. At the start of the game, the frame rate could peak at around 22 FPS, but often dropped to 8–9 FPS. Switching to new scenes also caused random performance fluctuations. Steam Deck HQ attributed this mainly to CPU bottlenecking, as CPU usage stayed at 100% while GPU usage hovered around 80%.

Ultimately, Steam Deck HQ had to drop all settings to the lowest or turn them off entirely just to complete the game. Among frame reconstruction techniques, TSR delivered the best performance, FSR was average, and XeSS the worst. But visually, XeSS looked the best, FSR the worst, while TSR produced a washed-out grayish image with very slow light and shadow loading, resulting in an unsatisfying experience.

Once a scene fully loaded, the game could generally hold at 22 FPS, which looked barely playable. But as soon as new enemies or effects appeared, frame rates plummeted — dipping to 8 FPS wasn’t unusual, making smooth progression nearly impossible.

As for frame generation technology, enabling it made the game appear smoother, but introduced severe input lag, making it nearly impossible to aim or shoot enemies. It also caused stutters and drops to become more frequent, with combat dropping to 2–3 FPS — rendering the game completely unplayable.

On the positive side, the game is compatible with the Steam Deck OLED’s HDR screen and will automatically bring up the virtual keyboard when needed. These small touches are commendable, but they don’t change the reality that the game is essentially unplayable on the Steam Deck.

For context, Borderlands 4 is a first-person shooter and action RPG. Players will face intense battles against vicious Vault Hunters, take on the role of one of four Vault Hunters, sweep across the planet Kyros, and pursue both fortune and glory.