Gearbox's highly anticipated first-person shooter, Borderlands 4, is set to launch earlier than expected, as confirmed by development chief Randy Pitchford in a video that was inadvertently released early. Originally slated for a September 23 release, Borderlands 4 will now hit the shelves on September 12 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 emphasized the rarity of such an event, saying, "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 focusing on Borderlands 4 is expected to be released soon.
The decision to move Borderlands 4's release date forward has sparked speculation about its relation to the impending release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6). GTA 6, which is set to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S sometime in the fall of 2025, may have influenced this strategic move. Given that both Borderlands 4 and GTA 6 are under the umbrella of Take-Two, which owns 2K Games and Rockstar, there's a possibility that the company adjusted Borderlands 4's release to avoid clashing with GTA 6.
This move could potentially give Borderlands 4 more room to breathe in the market. If Borderlands 4 is released on September 12, it might rule out a GTA 6 release in the same month or August, leaving October, November, or December 2025 as possible launch dates for GTA 6. However, this also raises concerns about the potential cannibalization of sales between Take-Two's major releases, including another 2K game, Mafia: The Old Country, set to launch in the summer of 2025.
In an interview with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, he addressed these concerns, stating that the company plans its releases to avoid such risks. Zelnick emphasized that the timing is driven by a desire to "respect the consumer's need to spend a lot of time playing these hit games before they go on to the next." He expressed confidence in the strategy, saying, "No, I think we will plan the releases so as not to have that be a problem... 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."
Despite this assurance, there remains speculation about potential delays for GTA 6, possibly pushing its release into early winter or even the first quarter of 2026. Zelnick acknowledged the inherent risks of delays, saying, "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."
