Gearbox Development’s chief Randy Pitchford insisted the decision to release Borderlands 4 earlier than it had anything to do with the release dates of other games, in speculation that shooters could have moved for games like Marathon and Grand Theft Auto 6.
Co-op Focused FPS Borderlands 4 was released on September 23rd, but will be released on September 12th on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
The 11-day shift has been focused on the release date of the GTA 6, sparking speculation that parent company Take-Two, which also owns GTA developer Rockstar, shuffled the pack to provide Borderlands with four breathing chambers. The GTA 6 is currently still on sale in the fall of 2025.
There was also talk that Borderlands 4 could have been moved due to a clash with Bungie’s Marathon, a co-op-focused extraction shooter. The Marathon was a key game for Bungee, owned by Sony, and was scheduled to face Borderlands 4 by releasing it on the same day on September 23, 2025.
However, in a tweet, Pitchford denied that he claimed that the game’s release date had an impact on the decision to advance Borderland 4, and was related to “confidence” and “development trajectory.”
“Early delivery of Borderlands 4 is 100% of the confidence in the game and development trajectory supported by actual tasks and bug search/fix rates,” says Pitchford. “Our decision is literally 0% on the actual or theoretical release date of other products.”
Many games are moving forward with release dates, but that remains an unusual outbreak (delays are more likely). Chris Doling, editor-in-chief of the gaming business and co-founder, said the decision would be “a little strange” if the release date of other games had nothing to do with moving forward with Borderlands 4.
“They went out on a date,” Doling tweeted. “It’s in calendars, market materials, social assets… I put “Borderlands 4 release date” on Google and still say September 23rd. There are certainly good commercial reasons to shift dates. ”
In a video message released earlier yesterday, Pitchford revealed the Surprise Borderlands 4 release date news. “In fact, everything’s going well,” he said. “In fact, everything’s become the best scenario. The game is great, the team is cooking. So the release date for Borderlands 4 is changing. We’re moving forward with that.
“what?
It is worth noting that Borderlands 4 is published by 2K Games, owned by Take-Two. The gearbox itself and the Borderlands IP are owned by Take-Two. Meanwhile, Take-Two is the parent company of GTA developer Rockstar. From the CEO of Strauss Zelnick, there is a desire to give all the companies games, games under development and the best chance of success at a high enough level.
In an interview with Passthecontroller in February, Zelnick said Take-Two is planning a release to avoid the risk of cannibalism. The launch timing claims that “we want to respect the need to respect the needs of consumers before playing the next hit game.”
“No, I think we’ll plan the release so that it doesn’t become an issue,” Zelnick said. “And what we’ve found is when you’re giving consumer hits, they tend to be interested in pursuing other hits. In other words, even when the hits aren’t ours, they’re good for the industry. In this case, we hope the hits are ours.
Of course, it is expected that the GTA 6 will either be delayed in early winter or at some point in the first quarter of 2026.
“Look, there’s always a risk of slipping, and as soon as you say the word, you’ll do jinx things,” Zelnick replied when Ignick asked him that he was sure the Rockstar would hit the GTA 6 in the fall of 2025.
Wesley is the UK news editor at Passthecontroller. Find him on @wyp100’s Twitter. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
