Randy Pitchford, the development chief at Gearbox, has firmly stated that the decision to advance the release date of Borderlands 4 was not influenced by the release schedules of other games, such as Marathon or Grand Theft Auto 6. Originally set for a September 23 release, Borderlands 4 will now hit the shelves on September 12, available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

The unexpected shift of 11 days has fueled speculation that the move was a strategic one to avoid a direct clash with GTA 6, set for a fall 2025 release, or Bungie's Marathon, which was slated for the same day as Borderlands 4's original date. Marathon, a significant title for Sony-owned Bungie, is also a co-op focused extraction shooter. Amid these rumors, Borderlands 4 is scheduled for a special PlayStation State of Play broadcast on April 30 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 11pm CEST.

In response to the speculation, Pitchford took to social media to clarify that the decision to move the release date forward was purely based on "confidence" in the game and its development trajectory. He emphasized that the move had "0% to do with any other product's actual or theoretical launch date."

While it's not uncommon for game release dates to be pushed back, moving a date forward is less typical, leading to comments from industry experts like Chris Dring, Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder of The Game Business. Dring expressed skepticism about the decision, noting that the original release date was already publicized and integrated into marketing and social media assets. He suggested there must be a strong commercial rationale behind such a move.

In a video message released early, Pitchford shared his excitement about the game's progress, describing it as a "best-case scenario" and confirming the new launch date of September 12. He expressed his astonishment at the rarity of moving a game's release date forward, emphasizing the positive development trajectory.

It's important to note that Borderlands 4 is published by 2K Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two, which also owns Gearbox and the Borderlands IP. Take-Two is also the parent company of Rockstar, the developer behind GTA 6. At the executive level, CEO Strauss Zelnick is aware of the development status of all the company's games and aims to optimize their release schedules to maximize success.

In a February interview with IGN, Zelnick discussed Take-Two's strategy to avoid cannibalization of its own games by carefully timing their releases. He highlighted the importance of giving consumers ample time to enjoy each game before moving on to the next, expressing confidence in this approach.

Amidst the speculation surrounding Borderlands 4's release date shift, there's also chatter about potential delays for GTA 6, which might push 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 acknowledged the inherent risks in game development but expressed optimism about meeting the deadline.