Borderlands 4 Release Date Switch-Up Could Hint at GTA VI Launch Date

[Cpt.Jank]

2K Games just announced that Borderlands will launch almost two weeks earlier than expected, moving the release date from September 23 to September 12. Nothing else regarding the release seems to have changed, with even the launch trailer even remaining unchanged with the old September 23 release date still present. 2K Games and Gearbox haven't specified a reason for the release date switch-up, but it's currently theorized that the looter-shooter was moved to make space for the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI.

Rumors and leaks previously indicated that GTA VI would launch sometime around October or November 2025, and we previously reported that game developers were already nervous about launching games within at least two weeks of the launch of GTA VI. The concern was that GTA VI would overshadow any other games that released even remotely close to it. It seems as though even a genre giant like Borderlands 4 isn't immune to this effect. Currently, the only concrete information about the GTA VI launch date is a confirmation that it will launch in "Autumn 2025," and indications are that the PC version will only arrive in early 2026. Borderlands 4, on the other hand, will have a simultaneous multi-platform launch, coming to Steam, Epic Games, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5 on day one—there has been talk of a Nintendo Switch 2 port, but that release date is thus far unknown. Along with the new launch date, 2K Games has also announced that it will host a Borderlands 4 gameplay showcase on April 30 at 14:00 PT (21:00 UTC).

Get ready for a deep dive on Borderlands 4! During a special State of Play presentation with PlayStation, the Gearbox team will share the nitty-gritty details of how you'll wreak havoc across Kairos and take down the Timekeeper.

Catch the show live on PlayStation's Twitch and YouTube channels on April 30 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm BST.

Back in our Launch Date Trailer, we showcased a taste of the explosive action, fearsome enemies, and powerful loot that await you. Since then, we've announced that Borderlands 4's launch has moved up to September 12, 2025, meaning you'll get to enjoy the looter shooter action even earlier!

In this upcoming State of Play, strap in with Creative Director Graeme Timmins and Senior Project Producer Anthony Nicholson for over 15 minutes of developer-guided gameplay, including missions, killer weapons, exciting Action Skills, new and returning characters, and more.

While you wait, head to the official Borderlands site for everything you need to know about Borderlands 4, check out the game's newly revealed key art, and remember to wishlist the game on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S ahead of its launch on September 12, 2025. We'll see you on April 30!

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[Lew Zealand]

Polls with missing options amuse me.

Edit: 'Neither' added, thanks!

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

I'm sure that, much like their new sale bundle announcement, it has NOTHING to do with the nuclear backlash they're getting over their new EULA giving them the right to scrape your name, phone number, address, ece from your computer so they can banhammer you for talking about their game's lack of quality. Nope, they're not trying to cover up their actions with misdirection announcements at ALL.

2K are absolute scum, on par with ubisoft or EA, and should be treated as such.

 

[mechtech]

Poll needs Neither.......................

Have to wait 2 years for steam sale prices

 

[Sydneyblue]

I cant wait !!!

 

[Sithaer]

Don't care much for GTA 6 and even if I did its only for the PC version anyway.
Borderlands serie I've been playing since BL 1 day 1 and easily put 2000+ hours into the whole thing so far '1100+ in BL3 alone' so BL 4 is an instant buy on my end and its the game I'm looking forward to the most this year. 'might even pull a GPU upgrade because of it..'

 

[mechtech]

I cant wait !!!

 

[Cpt.Jank]

Poll needs Neither.......................

Have to wait 2 years for steam sale prices

Lol good point. I've added a "Neither" option to the poll. I'm also generally on the side of waiting for more reasonable pricing. If it's anything like BL3, we'll have an EGS giveaway for BL4 before long anyway.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Neither, really. Unless GTA VI is day one on PC. I don't play on consoles.

 

[Apocalypsee]

Meh I'm bored how they neglect GTA V on singleplayer part of it so I'm not looking forward to VI at all. If Borderlands 4 stick true to it's roots it might get my interest. Game is absolute fun especially playing with close friends

 

[Legacy-ZA]

Poll needs Neither.......................

Have to wait 2 years for steam sale prices

Correct, better price, sort of/maybe improved game fixes, and a small chance the nGreedia driver will work by then.

 

[PierreJG]

I really loved borderlands 1 and 2. The others was meh in my opinion. BL 1 and 2 set the benchmark for fps rpgs. Problem with for instance 3 was that in some instances you had a quick shooting gun and the animation would block your point of view. Also the game play did not feel like a borderland game rather more like a doom clone (my opinion) My friend bought me the bl bundle worth 5k in my currency on special for R500. So we started playing online which is hella fun. Problem is that Borderlands 1 enhanced edition has so many bugs and issues that it kinda kills the fun. They won't fix it as they don't have a dedicated dev to maintain the game. So basically it will never be fixed. Steam should rather remove the enhance edition and keep the original. I am not sure on single player but on multiplayer there are a lot of bugs.

My wish is that they revert to what make BL, BL. The game play, animation etc. I really wish they can bring back the bl1 weapon system, where you use one gun and gets better in using it. Only thing I missed from BL 1 to BL 2. Also the Passive system on the first 2 games was a lot better implemented than in bl 3. This is just my opinion. If it feels like BL 3, I'll skip it.

 

[Scattergrunt]

I really loved borderlands 1 and 2. The others was meh in my opinion. BL 1 and 2 set the benchmark for fps rpgs. Problem with for instance 3 was that in some instances you had a quick shooting gun and the animation would block your point of view. Also the game play did not feel like a borderland game rather more like a doom clone (my opinion) My friend bought me the bl bundle worth 5k in my currency on special for R500. So we started playing online which is hella fun.

Borderlands 3 is certainly a fun game, with the best gunplay & movement undoubtedly in the whole series. Not sure if I've ever encountered the problem you're referring too.

Problem is that Borderlands 1 enhanced edition has so many bugs and issues that it kinda kills the fun. They won't fix it as they don't have a dedicated dev to maintain the game. So basically it will never be fixed. Steam should rather remove the enhance edition and keep the original. I am not sure on single player but on multiplayer there are a lot of bugs

Been a buggy nightmare since day 1. I still play the original version over enhanced because enhanced has a memory leak problem which as far as I'm aware was never fixed, so the game is basically useless to me. Plus, there's a lot of really weird changes anyway such as effectively nerfing the giftshop chests by increasing their awesome level, making them award more eridian guns (which if you've played the game longer than 2 hours, you know they suck besides the legendary ones from knoxx which are still insanely rare.)

I mean I wont pretend the original BL1 is a great game, but at least it wasn't game breaking buggy. And most of its issues are not related to bugs anyway.. just general game design which was improved with 2 & 3.

My wish is that they revert to what make BL, BL. The game play, animation etc. I really wish they can bring back the bl1 weapon system, where you use one gun and gets better in using it. Only thing I missed from BL 1 to BL 2. Also the Passive system on the first 2 games was a lot better implemented than in bl 3. This is just my opinion. If it feels like BL 3, I'll skip it.

I don't particularly miss the 'one weapon type getting better as you use it' thing because it felt like it forced you into using certain weapons if they you already unknowingly were using that weapon type a lot. It was a mechanic that got replaced by Badass rank for a reason, and honestly its a lot less intrusive and actually able to be disabled so I don't mind it as much (though its equally as annoying to grind)

Not sure what you mean by the passive system. Passive skills work fine in BL3, about identically to they did in BL1 and BL2.

Borderlands serie I've been playing since BL 1 day 1 and easily put 2000+ hours into the whole thing so far '1100+ in BL3 alone' so BL 4 is an instant buy on my end and its the game I'm looking forward to the most this year. 'might even pull a GPU upgrade because of it..'

Same here but I am probably gonna end up skipping BL4 initially. The game doesn't look that impressive or cool to be honest. I love borderlands but BL3 left a 'its good but I don't know if its THAT good' taste in my mouth. I like playing that game for its gunplay and movement but man, everything else kind of is just.. meh? The artstyle of 3 isn't really my thing but its not really bad, the story feels haphazard and lazily written (because apparently they cut a ton of it and moved it around a ton, which ended up character assassinating some characters like Ava) etc etc. Hope BL4 isn't the same.

 

[Sithaer]

Same here but I am probably gonna end up skipping BL4 initially. The game doesn't look that impressive or cool to be honest. I love borderlands but BL3 left a 'its good but I don't know if its THAT good' taste in my mouth. I like playing that game for its gunplay and movement but man, everything else kind of is just.. meh? The artstyle of 3 isn't really my thing but its not really bad, the story feels haphazard and lazily written (because apparently they cut a ton of it and moved it around a ton, which ended up character assassinating some characters like Ava) etc etc. Hope BL4 isn't the same.

Personally I don't play the BL games for their story, I mean sure I pay attention once and do every single side mission but what keeps me playing a BL game is the end game and the overall gameplay and to me BL 3 is a blast in that regard and the best in the serie. 'I still fire up the game every now and then just to do a Maliwan Takedown on its hardest difficulty just for the heck of it or do a 40+ mins Guardian Takedown if I want to challenge myself a little bit more'
I have every single char at max level with an end game build, actually I have 2 max level Sirens cause I've finished the game again with a friend like a half year ago so I've had to start a new char. 'we had a blast and he did like the game overall, hes also an ex BL1/2 player but never played 3 till late 2024'
So far 4 seems to share the same kind of gameplay at least if not faster so thats already a big + on my side, story is supposedly more serious but even if its not it should do the job for this kind of a game.
Whats gonna matter to me is how they handle the max level content like farming/build diversity/Raids and such. 'Thats where Wonderlands fell short and kind of failed, such a shame cause the rest of the game was pretty good'

 

[Scattergrunt]

Personally I don't play the BL games for their story, I mean sure I pay attention once and do every single side mission but what keeps me playing a BL game is the end game and the overall gameplay and to me BL 3 is a blast in that regard and the best in the serie.
I have every single char at max level with an end game build, actually I have 2 max level Sirens cause I've finished the game again with a friend like a half year ago so I've had to start a new char. 'we had a blast and he did like the game overall, hes also an ex BL1/2 player but never played 3 till late 2024'

I dunno, the endgame content of BL3 was.. fine. BL2 had more going on but I did not like the raids of BL3. Felt like it was trying to copy Destiny. The build diversity was nice though. If BL4 has better, more diverse farms, and pearls (or something rarer than legendaries) than I might play it. The gameplay is what brought me to 3.

Mayhem mode is, fine too. Again, I just feel.. fine about it. BL2's endgame got cancerous after awhile I know but it felt more diverse. BL3's balancing is undoubtedly better than 2's though. Endgame BL2 even with Level 72 / OP8 instead of Level 80 / OP10 was awful. Beeshield or Die.

So far 4 seems to share the same kind of gameplay at least if not faster so thats already a big + on my side, story is supposedly more serious but even if its not it should do the job for this kind of a game.
Whats gonna matter to me is how they handle the max level content like farming/build diversity/Raids and such.

Aslong as its better than 3 the story is fine to me.. 3 had a lot of really good potential but they threw it away hard. I still finished the story and got one character to endgame (Zane), got two other characters near endgame but I stopped caring after awhile

 

[Sithaer]

I dunno, the endgame content of BL3 was.. fine. BL2 had more going on but I did not like the raids of BL3. Felt like it was trying to copy Destiny. The build diversity was nice though. If BL4 has better, more diverse farms, and pearls (or something rarer than legendaries) than I might play it. The gameplay is what brought me to 3.

Mayhem mode is, fine too. Again, I just feel.. fine about it. BL2's endgame got cancerous after awhile I know but it felt more diverse. BL3's balancing is undoubtedly better than 2's though. Endgame BL2 even with Level 72 / OP8 instead of Level 80 / OP10 was awful. Beeshield or Die.

Aslong as its better than 3 the story is fine to me.. 3 had a lot of really good potential but they threw it away hard. I still finished the story and got one character to endgame (Zane), got two other characters near endgame but I stopped caring after awhile

To be honest I've loved BL 2's story the most in the serie but disliked its end game for multiple reasons that I don't want to get into detail here but yes mainly because of the OP levels were ass in general and the damn slag mechanic that I simply did not like while it was almost a must have later on when playing on the harder difficulties/OP levels.
Pearls yeah I would love to see them making a comeback, did so many Crawmerax runs in BL 1 and whenever I've noticed the pearl beam I've got excited like a kid at xmas. 'I don't want them to be completely broken just something to look out for while farming'

But yea I really hope that they will get this one right and it wont take them 1+ year to fix core issues like it was with BL 3. 'it is a fine game by now but they had so many early issues that needed like 2 DLCs worth of patches to fix and even more balance/quality of life change patches later..'
Either way I will be picking up the game on day 1 cause I'm too much of a fan.