Gearbox
Borderlands 4 is moving up its release date: a strategic move to avoid GTA 6 and Marathon
Take-Two is moving up the release of Borderlands 4 in a strategic move.
In a rare move within the industry, Take-Two has decided to move up one of the most anticipated titles in its 2025 catalog by several weeks. Borderlands 4, developed by Gearbox and published by 2K, will now be released on September 12 instead of September 23.
“This never happens,” but this time it does.
The news was revealed - and then retracted - by Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford himself in a video in which he expressed his surprise: “Holy, holy, what? This never happens”. According to Pitchford, the game’s development is going better than expected, but there are signs that the decision is more strategic than technical.
The most obvious clue points to GTA 6, Rockstar’s titan that is also under the Take-Two umbrella. While it doesn’t have an official release date yet, the company has reiterated that it’s slated for a fall 2025 release. And the move of Borderlands 4 away from that window suggests that 2K - being within the same conglomerate - has inside information on when the next Grand Theft Auto will actually launch.
This rescheduling could pave the way for GTA 6 to arrive in late September or early October, right in the slot where Borderlands 4 was originally slated for release. Even if the title suffers a slight delay, January or February 2026 could be on the table as a viable option to avoid saturating the year-end closing.
In addition, the new date for Borderlands 4 avoids a direct clash with another major release: Bungie’s reboot of Marathon, which arrives on September 23. With both titles banking on robust multiplayer experiences, avoiding such direct competition is a logical decision.
Get a closer look this April 30
As if that weren’t enough, Borderlands 4 has a big reveal coming up. The game will star in an exclusive State of Play this April 30, where it is expected to see extended gameplay and more details about its story and mechanics. The title will be released simultaneously on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5 and Xbox X|S.
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