Borderlands 4 Denuvo Reportedly Removed as RUNE Release Appears

Borderlands 4 has reportedly had its Denuvo anti-tamper protection removed from the PC version, with the RUNE group releasing an unofficial version shortly after a new game update.

The development emerged on October 22, 2026, when players examining the game's latest Steam update noticed a significant change to its executable file.

According to the Borderlands 4 update records on SteamDB, the main executable, Borderlands4.exe, decreased in size by approximately 171.69 MiB.

Community members have linked the substantial reduction to the removal of Denuvo, which had been included in the game since its September 2025 launch.

Shortly afterward, reports of a Borderlands 4 release from RUNE appeared in the CrackWatch community.

However, the distinction is important: RUNE is not reported to have directly cracked Denuvo. Instead, the release followed the apparent removal of the anti-tamper technology from the game's executable.

Developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K, Borderlands 4 launched on September 11, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

The game's PC performance has been a recurring topic of discussion, with some players questioning whether removing Denuvo could improve frame rates or reduce technical issues.

Nevertheless, removing anti-tamper protection does not automatically guarantee better performance. Independent benchmarks would be needed to establish any measurable improvements.

At the time of reporting, Gearbox Software and 2K had not issued a directly verified public statement explaining the change.

The latest development marks a notable shift in the PC version's protection, although its practical performance impact remains uncertain.