‘Borderlands 4’ Gets New Release Date – Fans Think It’s Because of GTA 6

Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford surprised fans when he revealed that Borderlands 4 is now releasing weeks earlier than originally announced. However, the new launch date immediately sparked online conspiracies from players who believe the move was actually due to Grand Theft Auto 6 releasing around the same time. Could GTA 6 really be launching as early as September?

‘Borderlands 4’ Moves Up Release Date and Sparks ‘Grand theft auto 6’ Conspiracy

On April 29, Randy Pitchford uploaded a video to Twitter announcing that the release date of Borderlands 4 would move to September 12. The much-anticipated looter-shooter was originally going to launch later in the month on the 23rd. It appears news of the new date is a bit too early, though, as Pitchford quickly deleted the video. However, those following the account were able to re-upload it before he took it down.

According to Pitchford, development on Borderlands 4 was going so well that they were able to move the launch up by several weeks. “I know we promised that Borderlands 4 would come at the end of September. The team has been working really hard. Everything is going great, actually. In fact everything is going the best-case-scenario. The game is awesome. The team is cooking. So the launch date for Borderlands 4 is changing. We are moving it forward. The launch date is now September 12. This never happens, guys. We are moving the launch date forward!”

Despite Pitchford’s explanation that the new Borderlands 4 release date was the result of an incredibly smooth development cycle, fans were quick to speculate that there was another reason behind the surprise announcement. Conspiracy theories quickly began circulating online, suggesting it could be tied to Grand Theft Auto 6.

Is ‘GTA 6’ Releasing Soon?

Rockstar Games fans immediately reacted to the Borderlands 4 news on social media, claiming the first-person shooter made the shift to avoid competing with GTA 6. One user on Twitter, for example, wrote, “GTA 6 launch date end of September, early October, I’m calling it now.” Another speculated, “Does this play a role in GTA VI release date?”

The conspiracy, essentially, is that Gearbox Software knows internally when the next Grand Theft Auto is coming out. This is because they’re published by 2K, which is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive. Because of this, some people believe that GTA 6 could be launching either at the end of September or sometime in October. However, these are all just baseless conspiracies not backed by any concrete evidence.

Not everyone believes in the GTA 6 theory, either. Some fans pushed back on the speculation, suggesting that Borderlands 4 had to pivot to avoid the launch of Bungie’s Marathon on September 23. Or, you know, it could just be what Randy Pitchford said. That development on Borderlands 4 is simply ahead of schedule. Still, launch dates rarely change in this industry without reason. Rockstar also claims GTA 6 is still on track to launch in 2025, and we’re now almost halfway through the year without a release date. So, I can kind of see where the conspiracies are coming from.