Randy Pitchford: Borderlands 4's Early Release Not Tied to Other Game Launches

Randy Pitchford, the development chief at Gearbox, has firmly stated that the decision to move up the release date of the cooperative FPS game, Borderlands 4, from September 23 to September 12, was not influenced by the release schedules of other games such as Marathon or Grand Theft Auto 6. This adjustment has sparked speculation about whether Borderlands 4 was shifted to avoid competition, particularly with GTA 6, which is set to launch in the fall of 2025, and Marathon, which was slated for the same initial release date as Borderlands 4.

In a tweet, Pitchford emphasized that the early release of Borderlands 4 was driven by "confidence" in the game and its development trajectory, rather than any strategic move to dodge competition. He highlighted that the decision was based on the game's readiness and development progress, stating, "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 assertions, the move has raised eyebrows in the gaming industry. Chris Dring, Editor-In-Chief and Co-Founder of The Game Business, expressed skepticism, noting that shifting a release date after it has been widely publicized is unusual and typically driven by commercial considerations. He pointed out that the original release date of September 23 was already set in various marketing materials and online platforms.

In a video message released early, Pitchford shared the news with excitement, emphasizing the positive development trajectory of Borderlands 4. He stated, "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!"

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 Interactive. Take-Two is also the parent company of GTA developer Rockstar Games. This corporate connection has led to speculation about strategic release planning at the executive level, particularly given comments from Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick in a February interview with IGN. Zelnick emphasized that Take-Two plans its game releases to avoid cannibalizing sales and to respect consumers' time with hit games, stating, "No, I think we will plan the releases so as not to have that be a problem... 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."

Amid these discussions, there's also talk about potential delays for GTA 6, possibly into early winter or the first quarter of 2026. Zelnick responded cautiously to questions about GTA 6's release timeline, noting the inherent risks in game development but expressing confidence in Rockstar's ability to meet the fall 2025 target.

Borderlands 4 is set to have its own PlayStation State of Play broadcast on April 30, further highlighting the game's prominence and the excitement surrounding its early release.