Gearbox growth chief Randy Pitchford has insisted the choice to launch Borderlands 4 sooner than deliberate had nothing to do with another recreation’s launch date, amid hypothesis the shooter may need moved because of video games reminiscent of Marathon or Grand Theft Auto 6.
Co-op targeted FPS Borderlands 4 was due out September 23, however will now launch on September 12 throughout PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
This 11-day shift sparked hypothesis that GTA 6’s launch date had come into focus and that father or mother firm Take-Two, which additionally owns GTA developer Rockstar, had shuffled its pack in a bid to offer Borderlands 4 extra respiratory room. GTA 6 is presently nonetheless all the way down to launch within the fall of 2025.
There was additionally discuss that Borderlands 4 may need moved because of a conflict with Bungie’s Marathon, a co-op targeted extraction shooter. Marathon is an important recreation for Bungie, which is owned by Sony, and was set to go up towards Borderlands 4 by releasing on the identical day, September 23, 2025. Borderlands 4 is getting its personal PlayStation State of Play broadcast immediately, April 30, at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 11pm CEST.
But in a tweet, Pitchford denied any recreation’s launch date influenced the choice to carry Borderlands 4 ahead, insisting it needed to do with “confidence” and “growth trajectory.”
“Borderlands 4 transport early is 100% the results of confidence within the recreation and growth trajectory backed by precise duties and bug discover/repair charges,” Pitchford mentioned. “Our determination is actually 0% about another product’s precise or theoretical launch date.”
While many video games have introduced their launch dates ahead, it stays an uncommon occurence (delays are extra possible). Chris Dring, Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder of The Game Business, mentioned that if different video games’ launch dates actually did don’t have anything to do with bringing Borderlands 4 ahead, then the choice is “a bit odd.”
“They’ve gone out with a date,” Dring tweeted. “It’s on calendars, market supplies, social property… Put ‘Borderlands 4 launch date’ into Google and it nonetheless says Sep 23. There’s absolutely obtained to be an excellent business purpose to shift a date.”
In a video message apparently revealed early yesterday, Pitchford revealed the shock Borderlands 4 launch date information. “Everything goes nice, truly,” he mentioned. “In truth, every thing goes type of the best-case situation. The recreation is superior, the staff is cooking, and so the launch date for Borderlands 4 is altering. We’re transferring it ahead. The launch date is now September 12.”
“What?! This by no means occurs you guys! This by no means occurs! We’re transferring the launch date ahead! You’re gonna get Borderlands 4 earlier!”
It’s price noting that Borderlands 4 is revealed by 2K Games, which is owned by Take-Two. Gearbox itself and the Borderlands IP are additionally owned by Take-Two. Meanwhile, Take-Two is the father or mother firm of GTA developer Rockstar. At a excessive sufficient degree, proper as much as CEO Strauss Zelnick, there can be a data of all the corporate’s video games, the place they’re at in growth, and a need to offer all of them the very best likelihood of success.
In an interview with IGN in February, Zelnick mentioned Take-Two is planning its releases to keep away from a threat of cannibalization, insisting launch timing is pushed by a need to “respect the buyer’s want to spend so much of time enjoying these hit video games earlier than they go on to the following.”
“No, I feel we’ll plan the releases in order to not have that be an issue,” Zelnick mentioned. “And what we discovered is if you’re giving shoppers hits, they are usually all in favour of pursuing different hits. In different phrases, I’ve mentioned this many instances, even when the hits aren’t ours, they are a good factor for the business. In this case, we hope that the hits will largely be ours. So we really feel actually good about it and I feel that we’ll time our releases in order to respect the buyer’s want to spend so much of time enjoying these hit video games earlier than they go on to the following.”
Amid all this hypothesis is after all the prospect that GTA 6 can be delayed both into early winter, or sooner or later within the first quarter of 2026.
“Look, there’s at all times a threat of slippage and I feel as quickly as you say phrases like completely, you jinx issues,” Zelnick responded when IGN requested how assured he was that Rockstar would hit fall 2025 for GTA 6. “So we really feel actually good about it.”
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
