Borderlands 4 Launch Brought Forward by 11 Days — What Could It Mean for the GTA 6 Release Date?

Gearbox's much-anticipated first-person shooter, *Borderlands 4*, is set to launch 11 days earlier than initially planned. This exciting update was announced by development chief Randy Pitchford in a video that inadvertently went live ahead of schedule. Originally slated for a September 23 release, *Borderlands 4* will now hit the shelves on September 12, available across 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 continued with a jubilant tone, "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 focused on *Borderlands 4* would be released soon.

The unexpected decision to advance the release date of *Borderlands 4* has sparked speculation about its timing in relation to the looming release of *Grand Theft Auto 6* (GTA 6). GTA 6 is currently scheduled for a fall 2025 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, a window that could potentially overshadow other games, including *Borderlands 4*. It's worth noting that both games are under the umbrella of Take-Two Interactive, with *Borderlands 4* published by 2K Games and GTA 6 developed by Rockstar Games. At the executive level, CEO Strauss Zelnick would be well aware of the development timelines and strategic release planning to maximize the success of all titles.

If *Borderlands 4* releases on September 12, it might effectively rule out a GTA 6 launch in the same month or August. This leaves October, November, or December 2025 as potential release dates for GTA 6. However, releasing these major titles too close to each other could risk cannibalizing their sales. Another 2K game, *Mafia: The Old Country*, is also slated for a summer 2025 release, adding complexity to Take-Two's release strategy.

In an interview conducted in February, IGN posed the question of potential release timing conflicts to Strauss Zelnick. Zelnick emphasized that Take-Two plans its releases to avoid cannibalization, driven by a respect for consumers' need to fully engage with one game before moving 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."

Despite these assurances, there remains the possibility of a delay for GTA 6, potentially pushing its release into early winter or even 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."