Randy Pitchford, the development chief at Gearbox, has firmly stated that the decision to move up the release date of Borderlands 4 from September 23 to September 12 was not influenced by the release schedules of other games, such as Marathon or Grand Theft Auto 6. Borderlands 4, a co-op focused first-person shooter, will now be available earlier on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Speculation arose that the 11-day shift might be a strategic move by Take-Two, the parent company of both Gearbox and Rockstar Games (the developer of GTA 6), to avoid direct competition with GTA 6, which is slated for a fall 2025 release. There was also talk about avoiding a clash with Bungie's Marathon, another co-op focused extraction shooter set to release on the same original date as Borderlands 4, September 23, 2025. Borderlands 4 is set to have its own PlayStation State of Play broadcast on April 30.
However, Pitchford took to Twitter to clarify that the decision to advance the release date was purely based on "confidence" in the game and its development progress, not on any other game's release schedule. He emphasized that the move was "100% the result of confidence in the game and development trajectory" and "0% about any other product’s actual or theoretical launch date."
Despite Pitchford's assurances, Chris Dring, Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder of The Game Business, expressed skepticism about the move. Dring pointed out that shifting a release date after it has been widely publicized and integrated into marketing materials is unusual and suggested there must be a strong commercial reason for such a change.
In a video message released early, Pitchford shared the news of the new release date with excitement, highlighting the game's progress and the team's performance as reasons for the decision. He noted, "Everything is going great, actually... 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."
It's important to note that Borderlands 4 is published by 2K Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two, which also owns Gearbox and the Borderlands IP, as well as Rockstar Games. At the executive level, including CEO Strauss Zelnick, there is likely strategic oversight to ensure the success of all Take-Two's titles.
In an interview with IGN, Zelnick discussed Take-Two's approach to release timing, aiming to avoid cannibalization by spacing out the launches of their games. He emphasized the importance of respecting consumers' time and their desire to fully engage with one game before moving to another. Zelnick also addressed the potential for GTA 6 to be delayed, acknowledging the inherent risks of development timelines but expressing confidence in Rockstar's ability to meet the fall 2025 target.
Amidst this, there is ongoing speculation that GTA 6 might be delayed into early winter or the first quarter of 2026, adding another layer of complexity to the release strategies of major game titles.
