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Borderlands 4 might make the case to go Switch 2 over the Steam Deck.
Gearbox have already warned fans that Borderlands 4 has been programmed in such a way that you’ll get satisfactory performance if your PC build comes closer to the recommended specs. The game will run above minimum specs, but they make no guarantees that it will meet player expectations.
Why Are We Even Trying With The Steam Deck?
As you may have already guessed, the Steam Deck is already obsolete in comparison to Borderlands 4’s system requirements. We’ll make this quick.
The minimum processor is either an Intel i7-9700 or and AMD Ryzen 7 2700X. The Ryzen 7 is an eight core processor with 16 threads.
The Steam Deck’s Processor is part of a custom APU that runs Zen 2. It only has four cores with 8 threads. That should settle this question off the bat.
But, we do know the Deck is getting some updates and a lot of development work from fans to push the hardware as much as possible. The Deck’s fandom is small, but they are passionate and very tech savvy.
Borderlands 4 Hits The Deck
Content Creator ETA Prime tried several tricks to see if it can be an enjoyable experience somehow. Ultimately, he failed, but let’s break it down.
By default, the game hovers at the 10 to 20 FPS range. If you don’t even want to mess with the settings, you can stop here.
To start, ETA Prime set FSR to Performance, no frame generation, and a resolution of 800 FPS. Here, the game runs at 18 to 20 FPS.
He then connected his Deck to Game Capture, lowered resolution to 720 FPS, and switched from FSR to XeSS. Most importantly, he turned on frame generation.
This time, the game looks a little more stable. The framerate does hit a little above 30 FPS. But, there is now high input lag, to the tune of a few milliseconds. That’s enough for your bullets to miss their targets. He even set the game to Easy and with auto aim, and it’s still unplayable this way.
Finally, ETA Prime raised the Deck GPUs clock to 1600 mhz. This isn’t something most gamers should be trying at all, but we can at least say that ETA Prime tried everything.
Now, the game jumps to the 40 FPS range, and it looks much more stable. But the input lag still ruins the experience completely.
Now We Wait For The Switch 2
Gearbox announced that Borderlands 4 was delayed on Switch 2, and settled on releasing it on October 4, 2025. That seemed like terrible news at the time.
After we saw the narrative flip flop on the Switch 2’s performance, however, that is no longer the case. We know that the Switch 2 can run games that the Steam Deck just isn’t capable of, such as Star Wars Outlaws.
We aren’t expecting some kind of ‘miracle’ on the Switch 2. We do believe that the Switch 2 version of Borderlands 4 is the portable version that Gearbox put their time and effort on.
If Gearbox pulls it off on the Switch 2, it will do more than make Nintendo fans happy. It will put Gearbox in an enviable position. They can theoretically go head to head with Fortnite and Apex Legends to fight for players.
Until Rockstar brings Grand Theft Auto Online to the Switch 2, this will make Borderlands 4 the Take-Two live service title with the biggest potential market.
In the meantime, you can watch ETA Prime’s Steam Deck video below.
