Randy Pitchford, the development chief at Gearbox, has firmly stated that the decision to move up 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 September 23, Borderlands 4 will now launch on September 12 across various platforms including PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

This adjustment in the release date led to speculation that the move might be a strategic response to avoid clashing with GTA 6, which is slated for a fall 2025 release. Borderlands 4's parent company, Take-Two, also owns Rockstar, the developer of GTA 6. There was also chatter about a potential conflict with Bungie's Marathon, another co-op focused shooter set to release on the same original date of September 23, 2025. Borderlands 4 is set to be featured in a PlayStation State of Play broadcast on April 30 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 11pm CEST.

However, Pitchford took to social media to clarify that the decision to advance the release of Borderlands 4 was solely due to "confidence" in the game and its development progress, not due to any other game's release schedule. He emphasized, "Borderlands 4 shipping early is 100% the result of confidence in the game and development trajectory backed by actual tasks and bug find/fix rates. Our decision is literally 0% about any other product's actual or theoretical launch date."

While it's rare for games to move their release dates forward (delays are more common), Chris Dring, Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder of The Game Business, expressed skepticism about the reasons given for the shift. He pointed out the logistical efforts already put into the original date, saying, "They’ve gone out with a date... It’s on calendars, market materials, social assets... Put ‘Borderlands 4 release date’ into Google and it still says Sep 23. There’s surely got to be a good commercial reason to shift a date."

In a video message, Pitchford shared the news of the earlier release date with excitement, 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."

It's important to note that Borderlands 4 is published by 2K Games, which, along with Gearbox and the Borderlands IP, is owned by Take-Two. This same company is also the parent of GTA developer Rockstar. At the executive level, including CEO Strauss Zelnick, there would be a comprehensive understanding of all the company's game development timelines and a strategic interest in maximizing the success of each release.

In an interview with IGN in February, Zelnick discussed Take-Two's strategy to avoid cannibalization of their game releases, emphasizing the importance of timing to allow consumers enough time to enjoy each game. 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."

Amidst this, there is ongoing speculation about the potential delay of GTA 6 into early winter or even the first quarter of 2026. Zelnick, when asked about the confidence in meeting the fall 2025 release for GTA 6, 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."