April 2025 State of Play Highlights Borderlands 4 Gameplay

The State of Play for Borderlands 4 provided an exciting glimpse into the future of this beloved franchise, with a detailed 20-minute gameplay deep dive that showcased the game's new features and mechanics. This event, which streamed on April 30, 2025, has left fans buzzing with anticipation and sparked discussions about the game's upcoming release date shift.

Borderlands 4 State of Play: New Details Revealed

20-Minute Gameplay Deep Dive Video

The Borderlands 4 State of Play offered an in-depth look at the upcoming looter shooter. The video highlighted two of the four new Vault Hunters: Vex the Siren, who harnesses supernatural phase energy to empower herself and summon deadly minions, and Rafa the Exo-Soldier, a former Tediore trooper equipped with an experimental exo-suit that can digistruct an arsenal of weapons.

Players will explore the new planet of Kairos, a world filled with warring factions, dangerous wildlife, and desperate inhabitants, all under the oppressive rule of the Timekeeper. The mission? To spark a revolution against this tyrant, ally with unique factions, and recruit them to your cause. Returning fan favorites like Claptrap, Moxxi, and Zane will assist players on this journey.

The gameplay deep dive also introduced several new features, including the innovative licensed Parts system, allowing players to customize their weapons by mixing and matching behaviors and abilities. Additional Gear slots for more specialized builds, the ability to ride a new vehicle called the Digirunner, and other exciting elements were also showcased.

Gearbox Denies Launch Date Change is Influenced by Other Games

Prior to the State of Play, Gearbox Software announced that Borderlands 4’s release date had been moved up by two weeks. The studio attributed this change to the "incredible development work" on the game. However, this announcement led to speculation among fans, with many believing the shift was influenced by the potential release plans of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6).

Both Gearbox Software and Rockstar Games, the developers of Borderlands and GTA respectively, are subsidiaries of Take-Two Interactive. This connection fueled speculation that the companies might be coordinating their release schedules, especially following Take-Two's comments on their game release windows during their November 2024 earnings call. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick had emphasized that GTA 6 would launch in Fall 2025, and confirmed that it would not conflict with Borderlands 4’s planned release within the 2026 fiscal year (April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026).

Addressing these speculations, Gearbox Entertainment CEO Randy Pitchford took to Twitter (X) on April 30 to clarify that the decision to move up the release date was purely based on their confidence in the game. "Our decision is literally 0% about any other product’s actual or theoretical launch date," Pitchford stated.

Regardless of the reasons behind the shift, fans can look forward to experiencing Borderlands 4 earlier than initially planned. The game is now set to launch on September 12, 2025, and will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. For the latest updates and more information, be sure to check out our article below!