Borderlands 4 Launch Shifted 11 Days Early: GTA 6 Release Implications?

Gearbox's eagerly anticipated first-person shooter, Borderlands 4, is set to hit the shelves 11 days earlier than initially planned. This exciting news was confirmed by development chief Randy Pitchford in a video that inadvertently went live ahead of schedule. Originally slated for a September 23 release, Borderlands 4 will now launch on September 12 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 added with excitement, “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 teased that a PlayStation State of Play focused on Borderlands 4 is imminent.

The unexpected decision to advance the release date of Borderlands 4 raises questions about potential influences, notably the looming release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6). GTA 6 is expected to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S sometime in the fall of 2025, a window that could overshadow other game releases. Given that Borderlands 4 is published by 2K Games, which is under the Take-Two umbrella alongside Rockstar, the developers of GTA 6, there might be strategic motives at play. At the executive level, including CEO Strauss Zelnick, there’s a comprehensive understanding of all games’ development timelines and a focus on optimizing their market success. It's possible that the finalization of GTA 6's release date prompted the decision to move Borderlands 4 forward, ensuring it has a clear window to shine.

With Borderlands 4 now set for September 12, it seems unlikely that GTA 6 will release in the same month or in August. Possible release months for GTA 6 could now be October, November, or December 2025. However, this poses a risk of Take-Two’s major releases cannibalizing each other if released too closely. Another game, Mafia: The Old Country, also set for a summer 2025 launch by 2K, adds to the scheduling complexity.

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 is strategically planning its releases to avoid such issues, emphasizing a consumer-focused 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 these strategic moves, there’s also the possibility of GTA 6 facing delays, potentially shifting into early winter or even the first quarter of 2026. When asked about the confidence in hitting the fall 2025 target 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.”