Borderlands 4 is bringing its release date forward a week and I'm already breaking out my GTA 6 conspiracy board

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Is Borderlands reverse delaying to avoid stepping on Marathon's toes? Or is it avoiding something even bigger?

Borderlands 4 trailer still
(Image credit: Gearbox Software)

While we've become all too accustomed to a classic game delay, it's rare that we see a game yaled. Y'know, undelayed. Hastened. Advanced. Okay, I'm putting my thesaurus away to tell you that Gearbox just revealed that it'll be bringing Borderlands 4's release date forward by an entire week and a half.

That's taken the release date from September 23 to September 12, which is a pretty big leap forward in Videogame Release World. I also can't help but note that the last time a big game pulled something like this it was Baldur's Gate 3, when Larian attempted to nimbly sidestep Bethesda's presumed juggernaut Starfield. A funny move in hindsight, but one that was certainly smart in the moment.

I bring this up because I can't help but wonder exactly why Gearbox (or publisher 2K Games) has decided to do this. It's offered up no particular reason in its PlayStation blog post, which almost always means the reason is another game. So of course I couldn't help but glance over the 2025 release calendar to see what could have possibly ruffled the developer's feathers.

The most likely scenario here seems to be that Bungie recently announced it'll be releasing Marathon on… as luck would have it, September 23. While I'm not sure what the Venn diagram of looter shooter and extraction shooter enjoyers looks like, it's understandable that Gearbox would want to try and get out of its way, even if it was technically there first. Maybe it's scared about another Battleborn vs. Overwatch situation.

A mechanical hand holds the Borderlands mask.

(Image credit: Gearbox)

The little gremlin in my brain wants to theorise that a Grand Theft Auto 6 release is on the horizon and parent company Take-Two wants to give Borderlands 4 as much clearance as possible, but I also reckon that's a whole heaping of cope on my side. But hey, it is supposed to come out in 2025, and as quickly approach the halfway point, it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility.


Whatever the reason, it's sure to be good news for those who've been desperate to jump into Kairos, which'll undoubtedly have all the mayhem and antics of Pandora past. For those who are dying for more info, good news: There's a Borderlands 4 State of Play happening on April 30 at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET / 10 pm BST which promises 20 minutes of gameplay, character reveals, and more.

Mollie Taylor
Mollie Taylor
Features Producer

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.  

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