Borderlands 4’s release date is changing.
A video shared and then removed by Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford revealed that the game – originally slated for release on 23rd September – will now launch a tad earlier, on 12th September.
“Holy, holy, what? This never happens,” Pitchford said in the video. So, why is it happening at all? Well, Pitchford says things are simply going very smoothly on the development side of things, but call me Clouseau, I reckon it could also be to do with a little game you may have heard of: GTA 6.
GTA 6 still lacks a release date, of course, but since Borderlands is published by 2K the company likely has a better idea of when GTA 6 will arrive than the rest of us, thanks to 2K also being part of Take-Two, the shared parent company of Rockstar.
Take-Two and Rockstar are yet to announce a firm release date for GTA 6, easily one of the most anticipated games right now, but has said it will debut some time this autumn. As of February this year, the companies remain confident of that release window, and it seems more than likely that Gearbox and 2K won’t want Borderlands 4 being in any direct release date competition with GTA 6 when the time comes. Others are already saying the same thing. In February, EA CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed the publisher would be willing to delay its next Battlefield – currently expected to release before April 2026 – if “some things happening in the year” meant that “wasn’t a great window for us”. So, that’ll be GTA 6.
So, given all this, could we be getting GTA 6 at the end of September or early October? That would be around the time Borderlands 4 was initially set for release.
I mean, I obviously can’t say for certain, but it’s a theory.
As I’ve been writing all this, Sony has announced a Borderlands 4-focused State of Play, set for 30th April (that’s tomorrow) so, tune in with us to find out more.
In March, Take-Two Interactive boss Strauss Zelnick revealed why the publisher was keeping Grand Theft Auto 6’s release date such a closely guarded secret, saying it prefers to “maintain the anticipation and excitement”.
As for Borderlands 4, it’s set to be released across PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S (via Steam and the Epic Games Store at the same time).
Borderlands 4 will introduce four new Vault Hunters on its release, alongside a new horde known as the Rippers.