Gearbox's eagerly anticipated first-person shooter, *Borderlands 4*, is set to hit the shelves earlier than expected, a surprising move announced by development chief Randy Pitchford in a video that went live prematurely. Originally slated for release on September 23, *Borderlands 4* will now launch on September 12, available across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
In the video, Pitchford shared his excitement, stating, "Everything is going great, actually. In fact, everything is going kind of the best-case scenario. The game is awesome, the team is cooking, and so the launch date for *Borderlands 4* is changing. We're moving it forward. The launch date is now September 12." He further exclaimed, "What?! This never happens you guys! This never happens! We're moving the launch date forward! You're gonna get *Borderlands 4* earlier!" Pitchford also mentioned that a PlayStation State of Play focused on *Borderlands 4* is imminent.
The decision to advance the release date of *Borderlands 4* raises questions about potential influences from the looming giant, *Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6)*. Currently scheduled for a release sometime in the fall of 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, *GTA 6*’s vague release window might overshadow other titles like *Borderlands 4*. Could the early release of *Borderlands 4* be a strategic move to carve out its own space in the market?
It's important to highlight that *Borderlands 4* is published by 2K Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two, which also owns Rockstar, the developer behind *GTA 6*. At the executive level, including CEO Strauss Zelnick, there's a comprehensive understanding of all the company's games and their development status. The aim is to ensure each game has the best possible chance at success. It's conceivable that recent clarity on *GTA 6*'s release date prompted the decision to move *Borderlands 4* up by nearly two weeks.
With *Borderlands 4* set for September 12, it seems unlikely that *GTA 6* will launch in the same month or August. Possible release dates for *GTA 6* could be October, November, or December 2025. However, releasing Take-Two's major titles too closely might lead to market saturation and internal competition. Another 2K title, *Mafia: The Old Country*, is also slated for a summer 2025 release, adding to the complexity of Take-Two's release strategy.
In a February interview with IGN, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed concerns about potential cannibalization among the company's big releases. Zelnick emphasized that Take-Two plans its releases to avoid such issues, stating, "No, I think we will plan the releases so as not to have that be a problem. And what we found is when you're giving consumers hits, they tend to be interested in pursuing other hits. In other words, I've said this many times, even when the hits aren't ours, they're a good thing for the industry. In this case, we hope that the hits will largely be ours. So we feel really good about it and I think that we will time our releases so as to respect the consumer's need to spend a lot of time playing these hit games before they go on to the next."
Amidst the speculation, there's also the possibility that *GTA 6* could face delays, potentially shifting its release into early winter or the first quarter of 2026. When asked about the confidence in meeting the fall 2025 target for *GTA 6*, Zelnick cautiously noted, "Look, there's always a risk of slippage and I think as soon as you say words like absolutely, you jinx things. So we feel really good about it."
