Borderlands 4 Gameplay Deep Dive Was Main Focus of April 2025 State of Play

The State of Play for Borderlands 4 offered an exciting 20-minute official gameplay deep dive, showcasing the game's new features and mechanics. Dive into the details revealed and understand the speculated reasons behind the shift in its launch date.

Borderlands 4 State of Play New Details Revealed

20-Minute Gameplay Deep Dive Video

The Borderlands 4 State of Play, streamed on April 30, 2025, as part of PlayStation's series, unveiled a comprehensive 20-minute gameplay deep dive video. This video introduced players to 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.

The gameplay also introduced the new planet Kairos, characterized by its warring factions, dangerous wildlife, and desperate inhabitants, all under the oppressive rule of the Timekeeper. Players will embark on a mission to ignite a revolution, meeting and recruiting unique factions along the way. Fan favorites like Claptrap, Moxxi, and Zane return to assist in this epic quest.

New features showcased include the innovative licensed Parts system, allowing players to mix and match weapon behaviors and abilities, additional Gear slots for more specialized builds, and the introduction of a new vehicle, the Digirunner, enhancing the gameplay experience.

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 would be moved up by two weeks, attributing this shift to "incredible development work." However, fans have speculated other reasons, primarily pointing to potential release plans of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6).

Both Gearbox Software and Rockstar Games, the developers behind Borderlands and GTA respectively, are owned by Take-Two Interactive. This connection has fueled fan theories about corporate influence on release dates, especially following Take-Two’s comments on their game release windows during their November 2024 earnings call, where they planned to launch GTA 6 in Fall 2025 and Borderlands 4 within their fiscal year 2026.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick had previously clarified in a November 2024 Variety interview that they would not schedule major releases to clash unnecessarily. However, Gearbox Entertainment CEO Randy Pitchford took to Twitter (X) on April 30, 2025, to dismiss these speculations, asserting that the early release was purely due to their confidence in the product. "Our decision is literally 0% about any other product’s actual or theoretical launch date," Pitchford emphasized.

Regardless of the underlying reasons, fans can look forward to experiencing Borderlands 4 earlier than anticipated, with its new release date set for September 12, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. Stay tuned for more updates by checking out our dedicated article below!