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

Gearbox's eagerly anticipated first-person shooter, *Borderlands 4*, is set to hit the shelves 11 days earlier than initially planned. Randy Pitchford, the chief of development, made this exciting announcement in a video that inadvertently went live ahead of schedule.

Originally 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 continued with palpable 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 an upcoming PlayStation State of Play event dedicated to *Borderlands 4*, which is set to happen soon.

The decision to advance the release date of *Borderlands 4* raises questions about its timing, especially in relation to the impending 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, with a somewhat vague release window. This could potentially overshadow other games like *Borderlands 4*. Given that both *Borderlands 4* and GTA 6 are under the umbrella of Take-Two, the parent company of 2K Games and Rockstar respectively, it's possible that the release date of GTA 6 influenced the decision to move *Borderlands 4* forward. This move could provide *Borderlands 4* with a clearer launch window, away from the looming shadow of GTA 6.

With *Borderlands 4* set to release on September 12, it appears less likely that GTA 6 will launch in the same month or August. This leaves October, November, or December 2025 as potential release dates for GTA 6. However, there's a risk that Take-Two's major titles, especially GTA 6, might end up competing against each other if released too close together. This concern is compounded by the planned summer 2025 release of another 2K game, *Mafia: The Old Country*.

In an interview with IGN in February, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed these concerns. He emphasized that the company is strategically planning its releases to avoid any risk of cannibalization, focusing on respecting consumers' need to fully engage with one game before moving on to the next. Zelnick 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 speculation about potential delays for GTA 6, possibly into early winter or even the first quarter of 2026. When asked about the confidence in meeting the fall 2025 release 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.”