Gearbox's highly anticipated first-person shooter, *Borderlands 4*, is set to launch 11 days earlier than originally planned, as announced by development chief Randy Pitchford in a video that was inadvertently released early. Initially slated for a September 23 release, *Borderlands 4* will now hit the shelves on September 12, available across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
In the video, Pitchford expressed 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 added with enthusiasm, "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 expected to be released soon.
The decision to advance *Borderlands 4*'s release date has sparked speculation about its potential connection to the impending release of *Grand Theft Auto 6* (GTA 6), which is set for the fall of 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Given the vague release window of GTA 6, it's possible that *Borderlands 4* was moved to ensure it has ample time in the spotlight before the gaming giant hits the market. Notably, *Borderlands 4* is published by 2K Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two, which also owns Rockstar, the developers of GTA 6. At the executive level, including CEO Strauss Zelnick, there's a strategic overview of all games under Take-Two's umbrella, aiming to optimize their release schedules for maximum success.
With *Borderlands 4* now set for a September 12 release, it seems unlikely that GTA 6 will launch in the same month or in August. This leaves October, November, or December 2025 as potential release windows for GTA 6. However, releasing Take-Two's major titles too close together could risk cannibalizing their own sales. Another 2K game, *Mafia: The Old Country*, is also slated for a summer 2025 release, adding another layer to the scheduling puzzle.
In a February interview, IGN posed the question of potential release conflicts to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. Zelnick emphasized that the company plans its release schedules to avoid such issues, driven by a respect for consumers' desire to fully engage with each game before moving on to the next. 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 this 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 responded, "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."
