Borderlands 4, a looter-shooter game developed by Gearbox Software, was released on Steam earlier today. The game is set to release on consoles tomorrow, but the PC release has already broken records set by previous installations in the series. Despite its overwhelming popularity, Borderlands 4 has since received mixed reviews due to performance issues.

At the time of writing, Borderlands 4’s highest concurrent player count is 205,420 players and counting. This concurrent player count is over double that of previous titles in the Borderlands series, with Borderlands: The Prequel only reaching a maximum of 68,238 players and Borderlands 3 maxing out at 93,820 players. Borderlands 2, the previously most popular Borderlands title, is also overshadowed by the new release as its maximum concurrent player count rests at 124,678 players. Borderlands 4 is so popular, in fact, that it has earned itself the first place spot on Steam’s top selling list and the fourth ranked spot on Steam’s most played list. 

Despite the game’s overwhelming popularity, reviews on Borderlands 4 are a mixed bag. For one, critics have had overall positive reviews of the game. Metacritic, for example, gave the title a generally favorable metascore of 84, while 97% of critics on Opencritic recommended the game. Some reviews on Steam have also praised the game’s writing, environment, and similarity to the popular Borderlands 2.

However, some reviews on Steam describe players struggling with the games various technical issues. One such review praises the game’s beautiful visuals, which are supported by the game being run on Unreal Engine 5, but critiques the game’s inability to run smoothly on average computers. Another reviewer praises the writing of Borderlands 4, specifically praising the game’s villain, but echoes concerns about the game’s laggy nature. Currently, the game sits at a “mixed” rating on Steam. 

Despite mixed reviews, Borderlands 4 has become an immensely popular game and set a high bar for the series going forward. Most negative reviewers on Steam have cited optimization as their primary cause for concern, so only time will tell if reviews will improve as the game receives more updates.