Borderlands 4 will now arrive earlier than expected—landing on September 12 instead of the originally planned September 23. Gearbox co-founder Randy Pitchford revealed the new date in a video that was quickly pulled offline, but not before sparking speculation about why the shift happened in the first place.
Borderlands 4 gets bumped up to avoid fall blockbuster traffic
In the short-lived video, Pitchford played it cool. “Holy, holy, what? This never happens,” he said, chalking the change up to smooth progress on development. But there’s likely more to it than that.
Borderlands is published by 2K, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive—the same company that owns Rockstar Games. And Rockstar, of course, is behind Grand Theft Auto 6. With GTA 6 slated for release sometime this fall, it’s not hard to imagine that 2K is simply stepping out of the way.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 adds Seth Rogen as a new operator in Season 3 Reloaded, with cannabis-themed skins and voice lines in the High Art event.
GTA 6 release window may be tighter than expected
Take-Two hasn’t locked in a date for GTA 6 yet, but everything points to a fall debut. The company reaffirmed a 2025 release earlier this year and hasn’t walked that back since. If internal timelines are narrowing in on late September or early October, it would explain why Borderlands 4 is shifting its launch forward by nearly two weeks.
This kind of maneuver isn’t unusual. In February, EA’s CEO said the company would be willing to delay the next Battlefield if “some things happening in the year” made that window unfavorable—widely interpreted as a thinly veiled nod to GTA 6’s impact.
Borderlands 4 set for all platforms with new Vault Hunters and enemies
While speculation continues around Rockstar’s plans, Borderlands 4 is already locked in for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Both Steam and the Epic Games Store will carry the game at launch.
Gearbox promises four new Vault Hunters and a new enemy faction called the Rippers. More details are expected during Sony’s upcoming State of Play event on April 30, which will spotlight Borderlands 4 specifically.
Strategic timing could give Borderlands 4 room to breathe
Borderlands is a big franchise—but it’s not GTA big. Avoiding a head-on collision with what might be the most anticipated game of the decade is just smart business. By jumping the line slightly, 2K gives Borderlands 4 a clean two-week window before the gaming world likely shifts its full attention to Los Santos and beyond.
Gearbox might say development’s going smoothly—and maybe it is. But the real strategy here? Timing is everything.
