You finally got your hands on a Nintendo Switch 2. You're excited. You've got your library ready to go, and you fire up Borderlands 3. Since the original Switch struggled to keep this game running at a stable 30 frames per second, you’re probably expecting a smooth, beautiful experience.
It isn't. Not yet.
Actually, for a lot of players right now, Borderlands 3 on the Switch 2 is a total mess. We’re talking "disco lights" in the sky, screen tearing that makes you dizzy, and shadows so dark you literally can't see the psychos running at your face. It’s frustrating because the raw power is there. The hardware wants to run this game at a buttery smooth 60 FPS, but the software is tripping over its own feet.
The Weird State of the Borderlands 3 Switch 2 Update
Here is the truth: there isn’t a native "Switch 2 version" of Borderlands 3 sitting in the eShop. Not one you can just buy and download to fix everything. Instead, we are relying on the Switch 2's backward compatibility layer.
While Nintendo has been quietly patching the system firmware (we're on version 20.2.0 as of late 2025/early 2026) to help old games run better, Borderlands 3 remains a holdout. The game uses some very specific rendering tricks to work on the original, weaker Switch hardware. When the Switch 2 tries to "emulate" those tricks with ten times the power, it gets confused.
The result? The lighting engine breaks.
Players across Reddit and Gearbox forums have been reporting that the game hits a high frame rate but suffers from "GPU death throes" visual artifacts. The Galaxy Map looks like a strobe light. Promethean cityscapes turn into pitch-black voids. It’s a classic case of a game being too optimized for old hardware to understand the new stuff.
💡 You might also like: Jigsaw puzzle online free: Why your digital hobby is actually better than the cardboard box
Why 60 FPS is a Double-Edged Sword
One of the coolest things about the Borderlands 3 Switch port is that Gearbox left the frame rate uncapped in the settings. On the original Switch, this was mostly useless since the console could barely hit 45 FPS in an empty room.
On Switch 2? It flies.
If you toggle "Uncapped FPS" in the visuals menu, the game easily hits 60 FPS. It feels amazing for about five minutes. Then you notice the screen tearing. Because the game doesn't have a native V-sync profile for the Switch 2's display, the frames are being delivered faster than the screen can refresh them.
You get these horizontal lines cutting across your screen. It’s annoying. Most people end up switching back to the "30 FPS Capped" mode just to stop the flickering, which feels like a waste of the new console's power.
🔗 Read more: Red Dead Online Treasure Maps: Why You Are Probably Doing Them Wrong
Gearbox and the "Indefinite" Delay
Everyone is waiting for an official Borderlands 3 Switch 2 update patch. Randy Pitchford, the head of Gearbox, has been vocal about his love for the new Nintendo hardware, calling it an "awesome machine." But there’s a catch.
Gearbox is currently buried under the development of Borderlands 4.
Reports from late 2025 suggest that resources for patching older titles have been shifted. While they’ve acknowledged that Borderlands 3 has issues on the new system, they haven’t given a solid date for a fix. Some support tickets even suggested players stick to their "original Switch" for the best experience.
That is a tough pill to swallow when you’ve spent hundreds on an upgrade.
The "Manual" Patch: How to Make it Playable Today
Since we might be waiting a while for an official 2K patch, the community has found a few workarounds. It’s not a perfect fix, but it makes the game actually playable instead of a migraine-inducing light show.
📖 Related: cs rin borderlands 2: What Most People Get Wrong
- The Brightness Trick: Go into the Visuals menu and then into "Calibrate Display." Set your Brightness to 100 and your Black Level to -10. This seems to counteract the weird dimming bug where the world turns black.
- System Updates: Ensure your Switch 2 is on the latest firmware. Data miners like OatmealDome have pointed out that Nintendo is fixing compatibility on a per-game basis through system updates.
- Internal Storage vs. SD Card: Believe it or not, some users have reported fewer lighting glitches when the game is installed on the internal SSD rather than a high-speed Micro SD card. It might be a data-streaming bottleneck.
What's Next for Vault Hunters?
Honestly, the future of Borderlands 3 on this platform probably depends on the launch of the next "collection." We’ve seen rumors of a Pandora’s Box: Switch 2 Edition that would bundle everything with native 4K/60 support.
If Gearbox follows their usual pattern, they’ll roll the fixes into a new SKU rather than just patching the old one for free. It’s not ideal, but it’s how the industry works.
For now, if you’re trying to play, use the brightness workarounds. Avoid the uncapped frame rate unless you can ignore the screen tearing. The game is faster—the load times into Sanctuary are nearly instant now—but the visual bugs are the final boss you didn’t ask for.
Check your eShop for "System Data" updates frequently. Nintendo is pushing these out without much fanfare, and one of them might just contain the "secret" fix for the Borderlands lighting engine before Gearbox even lifts a finger.
Actionable Next Steps:
Check your current firmware version in the System Settings. If you aren't on at least version 20.2.0, update immediately. Afterward, reset your in-game Borderlands 3 visual settings to default before applying the brightness "fix" mentioned above; this prevents old cache data from causing further lighting strobes.