Gearbox's much-anticipated first-person shooter, Borderlands 4, is set to hit the shelves 11 days earlier than initially planned. This exciting news was revealed by Gearbox's development chief, Randy Pitchford, in a video that inadvertently went live before its intended time.
Originally slated for release on September 23, Borderlands 4 will now launch on September 12 across multiple platforms including PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.
In the video, Pitchford shared his enthusiasm, 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.” His excitement was palpable as he exclaimed, “What?! This never happens you guys! This never happens! We’re moving the launch date forward! You’re gonna get Borderlands 4 earlier!”
Additionally, Pitchford mentioned that a PlayStation State of Play event focused on Borderlands 4 is expected to be released soon, adding to the anticipation surrounding the game.
This unexpected shift in the release date raises questions about potential strategic moves, particularly in relation to the looming release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6). Currently scheduled for a vague fall 2025 window on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, GTA 6 could overshadow other game releases. Could Borderlands 4's new date be a maneuver to secure its own space in the market?
It's noteworthy 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 is likely a comprehensive understanding of all game developments and a strategy to maximize the success of each title. The decision to move Borderlands 4's release might be influenced by recent clarity on GTA 6's timeline, aiming to give Borderlands 4 a competitive edge.
If Borderlands 4 launches on September 12, it effectively rules out a GTA 6 release in the same month or August. This leaves October, November, or December 2025 as potential release windows for GTA 6. However, there's a risk that Take-Two might inadvertently cannibalize its own major releases by scheduling them too closely. This concern is compounded by the upcoming release of another 2K game, Mafia: The Old Country, set for summer 2025.
In a February interview, IGN posed the question of potential harm from closely timed releases to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. Zelnick reassured that Take-Two plans its releases to mitigate such risks, emphasizing the importance of allowing consumers ample time to enjoy each game. He stated, "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 these strategic considerations, there remains the possibility that GTA 6 could face delays, potentially pushing its release into early winter or even the first quarter of 2026. When asked about the confidence in meeting the fall 2025 deadline for GTA 6, Zelnick responded cautiously, "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."
