Gearbox's highly anticipated first-person shooter, Borderlands 4, is set to hit the shelves earlier than expected, as announced by development chief Randy Pitchford in a video that was inadvertently released ahead of schedule. Originally slated for a September 23 release, 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 expressed 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." He further emphasized the rarity of this situation, exclaiming, "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.
The decision to advance the release date of Borderlands 4 has sparked speculation about its potential connection to the looming release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6), which is currently scheduled for a fall 2025 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. The vague release window of GTA 6 could overshadow other game releases, including Borderlands 4. It is noteworthy that both Borderlands 4 and GTA 6 are under the umbrella of Take-Two, with Borderlands 4 being published by 2K Games and GTA 6 developed by Rockstar. At the executive level, including CEO Strauss Zelnick, there is likely a strategic approach to optimize the release schedule to ensure the success of all games. It is possible that recent clarifications on GTA 6's release date prompted the decision to move Borderlands 4's launch forward to avoid direct competition.
If Borderlands 4 releases on September 12, it may signal that GTA 6 will not be released in the same month or in August. This opens up potential release windows for GTA 6 in October, November, or December 2025. However, releasing Take-Two's major titles too closely could lead to market cannibalization. Another 2K game, Mafia: The Old Country, is also slated for a summer 2025 release, adding to the complexity of scheduling.
In an interview conducted in February, IGN posed the question of potential cannibalization to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. Zelnick responded by assuring that Take-Two is strategically planning its release dates to mitigate this risk, emphasizing a consumer-centric approach. 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 all the speculation, there remains the possibility that GTA 6 could be delayed into early winter or even into the first quarter of 2026. When asked about the confidence in meeting the fall 2025 release for GTA 6, Zelnick cautiously remarked, "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."
