Randy Pitchford: Borderlands 4 Release Date Not Influenced by Other Products

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 launch schedules of other games, such as Marathon or Grand Theft Auto 6. Originally slated 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 shift in the release date by 11 days led to speculation that it might have been strategically moved to avoid clashing with the anticipated release of GTA 6, which is set for the fall of 2025. Both games are under the umbrella of Take-Two, the parent company of GTA developer Rockstar and Borderlands publisher 2K Games. There was also talk of avoiding a direct competition with Bungie's Marathon, another co-op focused shooter, which was due to launch on the same day as Borderlands 4's original date.

However, Pitchford took to Twitter to dispel any such notions, emphasizing that the decision to bring Borderlands 4 forward was purely based on "confidence" and the "development trajectory" of the game itself. He stated, "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."

Despite Pitchford's assurances, the move to advance the release date has been seen as unusual, as delays are far more common in the gaming industry. Chris Dring, Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder of The Game Business, expressed surprise at the decision, noting that if it wasn't influenced by other games' release dates, it seemed "a bit odd." He pointed out the logistical efforts already in place for the original date, such as marketing materials and publicized release dates.

In a video message, Pitchford shared the excitement about the game's progress, saying, "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. What?! This never happens you guys! This never happens! We’re moving the launch date forward! You’re gonna get Borderlands 4 earlier!"

Take-Two's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, had previously mentioned in an interview with IGN that the company aims to space out its game releases to avoid cannibalizing sales and to allow consumers ample time to enjoy each title before moving on to the next. He expressed confidence in this strategy, stating, "No, I think we will plan the releases so as not to have that be a problem... 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."

Amidst the speculation surrounding Borderlands 4's release date shift, there are also murmurs about potential delays for GTA 6, possibly into early winter or the first quarter of 2026. Zelnick acknowledged the inherent risks of delays but remained optimistic about GTA 6's current timeline, saying, "So we feel really good about it."

Borderlands 4 will be the focus of a PlayStation State of Play broadcast on April 30, at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 11pm CEST, offering fans a closer look at what to expect from this eagerly anticipated title.