Gearbox development head Randy Pitchford has clarified that the decision to move Borderlands 4's launch forward was not influenced by any other game's scheduled release, despite speculation linking the shift to titles like Marathon or Grand Theft Auto 6.
The cooperative-focused FPS Borderlands 4, originally slated for September 23, will now arrive on September 12 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
This 11-day change fueled theories that Take-Two Interactive, which owns both Gearbox and Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar, wanted to give Borderlands 4 more space ahead of GTA 6’s expected fall 2025 launch.
Rumors also circulated that Borderlands 4 shifted to avoid a same-day clash with Bungie's cooperative extraction shooter Marathon. Bungie, owned by Sony, had scheduled Marathon for a September 23, 2025 launch. Meanwhile, Borderlands 4 is set to be showcased in a PlayStation State of Play broadcast today, April 30, at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 11pm CEST.
In a tweet, Pitchford denied any external release date influenced the decision, attributing the move entirely to confidence in the game and its development progress.
“Borderlands 4 shipping early is 100% the result of confidence in the game and its development trajectory, supported by actual task completion and bug resolution rates,” Pitchford stated. “Our decision had absolutely no connection to any other title’s actual or rumored launch date.”
Although it’s rare for games to release earlier than planned—delays being far more common—Chris Dring, Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder of The Game Business, remarked that if no competing titles played a role, the decision is "somewhat unusual."
"They had already announced a date," Dring noted on Twitter. "It’s in calendars, marketing assets, and social media posts. If you search for ‘Borderlands 4 release date,’ it still shows September 23. There must be a strong commercial reason to make such a shift."
In a video announcement posted early yesterday, Pitchford shared the unexpected change. “Everything is progressing exceptionally well,” he said. “In fact, development is going better than we could have hoped. The game is fantastic, the team is performing at their best, so we’re moving the launch forward. Borderlands 4 will now release on September 12.”
“Can you believe it? This almost never happens! We’re launching earlier. You’ll get to play Borderlands 4 sooner!”
It’s important to note that Borderlands 4 is published by 2K Games, a Take-Two subsidiary. Gearbox and the Borderlands IP are also under Take-Two’s umbrella, as is Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar. At the executive level, including CEO Strauss Zelnick, there is clear oversight of all company projects, their development status, and a strategy to maximize each title’s success.
In a February interview with IGN, Zelnick explained that Take-Two plans its releases carefully to avoid internal competition, emphasizing that timing is guided by a desire to “respect the consumer’s need to devote significant time to each major game.”
“No, we schedule releases strategically to prevent overlap,” Zelnick said. “Our experience shows that when players enjoy great games, they remain open to other standout titles. Even when those hits come from different publishers, they benefit the industry overall—though we hope most of the hits will be ours. We'll time our launches to give players ample space to enjoy these experiences before moving on.”
Amid ongoing discussion, some speculate that GTA 6 could still be delayed into late 2025 or even early 2026.
When IGN asked how confident he was about Rockstar hitting the fall 2025 window, Zelnick replied, “There’s always a chance of delays, and I believe declaring something absolutely final can risk tempting fate. That said, we feel very positive about our current timeline.”
