Borderlands 4 Launch Moved Up 11 Days: Impact on GTA 6 Release?

Gearbox's highly anticipated first-person shooter, *Borderlands 4*, is set to hit the shelves 11 days earlier than originally planned. This exciting news was announced by development chief Randy Pitchford in a video that seems to have been released prematurely. Initially slated for a September 23 release, *Borderlands 4* will now launch on September 12 across multiple platforms, including 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 mentioned that a PlayStation State of Play event focused on *Borderlands 4* is expected to be released soon, adding to the anticipation surrounding the game.

The decision to advance the release date of *Borderlands 4* has sparked curiosity about whether it's a strategic move to avoid clashing with the highly anticipated *Grand Theft Auto 6* (GTA 6), which is scheduled for release sometime in the fall of 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Given the broad release window of GTA 6, it's plausible that *Borderlands 4* was moved to carve out more space in the market. It's noteworthy that *Borderlands 4* is published by 2K Games, which is under the umbrella of Take-Two, the same parent company as Rockstar, the developer of GTA 6. At the executive level, decisions are likely made with an overview of all projects to maximize their success potential. Perhaps recent clarity on GTA 6's release date influenced the decision to bring *Borderlands 4* forward.

With *Borderlands 4* set for a September 12 release, it appears unlikely that GTA 6 will launch in the same month or in August. This leaves October, November, or December 2025 as potential release dates for GTA 6. However, there's a risk that Take-Two might inadvertently cause its major 2025 titles to compete against each other, especially considering another 2K game, *Mafia: The Old Country*, is slated for release in the summer of 2025.

This raises questions about the potential for Take-Two's flagship games to negatively impact each other's sales if released too closely together. In an interview conducted in February, IGN posed this question to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. Zelnick responded by assuring that Take-Two plans its releases to minimize the risk of cannibalization, emphasizing that the timing respects consumers' need to thoroughly enjoy 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's also the possibility that GTA 6 might be delayed, potentially into early winter or 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."