Borderlands 4 was supposed to be one of the Nintendo Switch 2’s big fall 2025 releases but was indefinitely delayed amid a race to address performance issues for the PC version. Many fans hoped it might end up launching in early 2026 instead, but the Switch 2 port of Borderlands 4 is now officially being paused.
“We made the difficult decision to pause development on that SKU,” Take-Two spokesperson Alan Lewis told Variety on Thursday. “Our focus continues to be delivering quality post-launch content for players on the ongoing improvements to optimize the game. We’re continuing to collaborate closely with our friends at Nintendo. We have PGA Tour 2K25 coming out and WWE 2K26 [for Switch 2], and we’re incredibly excited about bringing more of our titles to that platform in the future.”
What’s especially odd about the last-minute reversal is that Borderlands 4 was already publicly demoed running on Switch 2 last summer at shows like PAX West. Assessments varied, with some players saying it looked surprisingly good while others said it suffered from surprising performance hang-ups, even when docked.
Okay I’ll just put it bluntly:
Borderlands 4 on the Switch 2 could barely run at 30fps with 4 enemies on screen in docked mode. It had horrendous input delay, and the render resolution was seemingly turned all the way down.
I’ll talk more about it in a video maybe tomorrow 😬
— EpicNNG (@EpicNNG) August 22, 2025
“We need to share that the release of Borderlands 4 on Nintendo Switch 2 is being delayed,” the studio wrote in a surprise announcement last September less than two weeks before it was set to launch. “We do not take this decision lightly, but are committed to ensuring we deliver the best possible experience to our fans, and the game needs additional development and polish time to do that.”
Gearbox Entertainment recently doubled down on big plans for the looter shooter’s 2026 content roadmap. That includes a new rarity of gear, raising the level cap, and fresh story content in paid DLC packs. The roadmap even called out the addition of a new photo mode. The Switch 2 port, on the other hand, was conspicuously absent. Publisher 2K Games has yet to reveal how many copies the latest sequel has sold.
Borderlands 4‘s absence from the Switch 2 will be a bummer for fans hoping they’d eventually be able to jump in, but it’s not the only port that players have been patiently waiting on. Elden Ring was also announced for Nintendo’s new console last year and also remains MIA. Demos last summer suggested it was having framerate issues as well. Other heavy hitters like Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade have performed well enough though.