Borderlands 4 boss confirms “there will be a download, even for physical copies” on Switch 2, which will “mostly” run at 30 FPS “with some dips”
Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford revealed today that Borderlands 4 is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on October 3, and in the wake of that news, he’s also confirmed a few other details of interest.
Responding to fan inquiries from his weird little video announcing Borderlands 4’s Switch 2 release date, Pitchford seemingly confirmed the physical version will be on a game-key card instead of an actual cartridge.
“It’s a big game,” he said. “There will be a download, even for physical copies.”
Big publishers including Square Enix and Capcom have opted for game-key cards instead of traditional game cartridges in some Switch 2 releases, and it sounds like Gearbox is hopping on the controversial trend away from old-school physical media.
Pitchford previously said Borderlands 4 was targeting 60 FPS on Switch 2, but it seems now that we’re closer to release that’s become less feasible.
“It was important to us to not cut anything and to support cross play with other platforms,” he said in a reply to another fan. “So, no. It’ll be mostly around 30 fps, with some dips in some intense moments heavy combats or if hosting a multiplayer game in handheld mode, etc.”
Finally, Pitchford touched on another fairly controversial topic: Borderlands 3’s performance on Switch 2, which has been widely criticized from day one.
“Borderlands 3 was not made for Switch 2,” Pitchford said. “I want us to get on that and see what we can do. We need some help and we need some time. Borderlands 4 is everything right now.”
I suppose, considering the apparent confirmation of Borderlands 4 Switch 2 game-key cards and the new 30 FPS expectation, the fact that Pitchford seemingly committed to improving Borderlands 3 performance on Switch 2 is something of a silver lining. Though, it’s also pretty understandable that Borderlands 4 is the studio’s priority at the moment.
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