Borderlands 4 Release Date Moved Up: Impact on GTA 6?

Gearbox Software's highly anticipated first-person shooter, *Borderlands 4*, is set to launch earlier than expected. The game's release has been moved forward by 11 days, as announced by Gearbox's 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, available on 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 further emphasized the rarity of such a move, saying, "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 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 timing in relation to the upcoming *Grand Theft Auto 6* (GTA 6), which is set to release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S sometime in the fall of 2025. Given the vague release window of GTA 6, some wonder if *Borderlands 4* was moved to avoid direct competition. It's important to note 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 would be a strategic interest in optimizing the release schedules of all Take-Two titles to ensure their success.

With *Borderlands 4* set for a September 12 release, it seems unlikely that GTA 6 will launch in the same month or August. Possible release dates for GTA 6 could be in October, November, or December 2025. However, there's a risk that Take-Two might inadvertently cannibalize its own major releases by scheduling them too closely. Another game from 2K, *Mafia: The Old Country*, is also slated for a summer 2025 release, adding to the complexity of Take-Two's release strategy.

In an interview with IGN in February, Strauss Zelnick addressed concerns about potential cannibalization among Take-Two's big titles. He assured that the company plans its releases carefully to avoid such risks, emphasizing the need to respect consumers' time with each game. Zelnick 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 the speculation, there's also the possibility that GTA 6 might be delayed into early winter or 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."