Gearbox says Borderlands 4 did not change its date because of GTA 6
After yesterday's Borderlands 4 announcement, fans jumped to the first theory: that GTA 6 had some impact. Gearbox says it's just confidence in the game.
Gearbox, the studio behind the Grand Theft Auto 6 had nothing to do with yesterday’s new release date. A surprise announcement shifted Borderlands 4’s release date from September 23rd to September 12th, almost two weeks earlier than originally planned. This news also arrived alongside news of a PlayStation State of Play focused on the new Borderlands title. Since Gearbox, the studio behind Borderlands is owned by 2K, which is owned by Take Two, which owns Grand Theft Auto 6, many people started drawing connections to figure out why the date has changed.
Gearbox says moving Borderlands 4 release date has nothing to do with GTA 6
In a recently announced a release date for September 23rd, so people were throwing that theory around too.
Many developers have shared that the launch date for Grand Theft Auto 6 is something they would do their best to avoid. Grand Theft Auto 6 is inarguably the most anticipated game launch, so it’s easy to imagine it overshadowing anything else. On a smaller scale, we have already seen this with last week’s surprise announcement of didn’t have quite the same experience.
Borderlands 4 is no doubt one of the biggest launches of the year, but no one would blink an eye if it moved for Grand Theft Auto 6. Sure, they are both games from Take Two, and they are very different styles of game, but even from a larger business perspective it makes sense. The hope would be that both games have space to find their audience. Take Two wants people to have enough time to play Borderlands 4 before jumping over to Grand Theft Auto 6.
I wouldn’t even be surprised if Rockstar waited to announce the release date until after Borderlands 4 launches. If people knew that Grand Theft Auto 6 was going to be released in two months, I imagine at least a portion of people would choose to save their money for GTA rather than buy Borderlands now. Nothing against Borderlands 4, I’m sure it’s going to be a great game, but that’s just the power of Grand Theft Auto 6.
