Early Borderlands 4 Release Hints at GTA 6 Marketing Plans

It doesn't look like Take-Two's marketing strategy has changed at all.

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Do you remember when Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said in a recent Bloomberg interview that they're trying something new by only marketing their games closer to their release dates? Well, apparently, things have changed since.

When Zelnick said that they'd start the campaigns for their upcoming games much closer to their release dates, many assumed that it meant that Take-Two and Hangar 13 would spend the next couple of months marketing Mafia: The Old Country ahead of its release on August 8 with Borderlands 4 waiting on the wings.

In this particular scenario, marketing for Grand Theft Auto 6 wouldn't start until after Borderlands 4 had its turn, leaving the upcoming sixthquel with a relatively short marketing cycle.

However, Gearbox Entertainment's most recent announcement might be the smoking gun that every Grand Theft Auto fan has been after all this time.

Borderlands 4, originally scheduled for September 23, will now release on September 12. But, that's not all. It's getting its own 20-minute State of Play showcase tomorrow, April 30.

This recent development confirms that Take-Two isn't averse to marketing their upcoming AAA titles so close to each other. Hangar 13 and 2K Games will be at PAX East from May 8 to May 11 to reveal more information about Mafia: The Old Country ahead of its August 8 launch.

With only a week separating news between Mafia: The Old Country and Borderlands 4, is it really impossible that we'll hear more about GTA 6 soon, perhaps on or before Take-Two's next earnings call on May 15?

We know thanks to his recent tweets that former Rockstar North lead developer Obbe Vermeij believes that GTA 6 doesn't need a new trailer and if it does drop, it won't be until much closer to the game's release, but what if Take-Two and Rockstar has other plans?

Because of the latest earnings call, we're aware that Take-Two is spending a lot of money to market its trio of AAA titles, so they're definitely prepared for an extensive marketing campaign instead of a shortened one.

So rather than GTA 6 being possibly delayed, there's a possibility that Take-Two will market Mafia: The Old Country, Borderlands 4, and GTA 6 close to each other until they launch.

With that said, we'll get more clarity regarding Take-Two's plans over the next two weeks, with key dates being April 30, May 8, and May 15.

For now, what this latest development has accomplished is turn Take-Two's next earnings call into the most tuned in earnings call in recent memory, if not ever.

In the meantime, GTA fans can celebrate the 17th birthday of Grand Theft Auto 4 by wishing that Rockstar would finally release a modern remaster of the 2008 title.