Gearbox's highly anticipated first-person shooter, *Borderlands 4*, is set to hit the shelves 11 days earlier than originally planned. Development chief Randy Pitchford announced this exciting news in a video that was released prematurely. Initially slated for a September 23 release, *Borderlands 4* will now launch on September 12 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 added with 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 that a PlayStation State of Play focused on *Borderlands 4* is expected to be released soon.

The decision to advance *Borderlands 4*'s release date has sparked speculation about its relation to the upcoming release of *Grand Theft Auto 6* (GTA 6). Currently scheduled for a fall 2025 release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, the vague timeline of GTA 6 could potentially overshadow other game releases, including *Borderlands 4*. Given that both games are under the umbrella of Take-Two, the parent company of 2K Games and Rockstar, it's plausible that the decision to move *Borderlands 4* forward was made to provide it with a better chance at success by avoiding a direct clash with GTA 6.

With *Borderlands 4* set for a September 12 release, it seems unlikely that GTA 6 will launch in the same month or in August. This leaves October, November, or December 2025 as potential release windows for GTA 6. However, releasing Take-Two's major titles too close together poses a risk of cannibalizing their sales. Additionally, another 2K game, *Mafia: The Old Country*, is set to launch in the summer of 2025, adding to the scheduling complexity.

When questioned about the potential harm of releasing major titles too close to each other, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick emphasized that the company's release strategy aims to avoid such risks. In a February interview, 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 the possibility that GTA 6 could be delayed into early winter or even the first quarter of 2026. Zelnick acknowledged the risk of delays, saying, "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."