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The hype train for Red Dead Redemption 2 has been kicked into overdrive with large posters going up in New York City and a new gameplay trailer - the first of its kind - having recently been revealed. And now, most recently, the game's first press kit has seen the light of day. Though not as substantial as a 6-minute look at the game in action, it's still interesting. Courtesy of Critical Hit, we have both a video and a set of photos showing off the small care package Rockstar is bombarding video game journalists with across the globe leading up to release. Press kits are traditionally included with review copies, including style guides, review guides and a few exclusive tidbits of merchandise. These, presumably, are meant as some measure of thanks for reviewing the games, but based on what most game reviewers say, they end up being little more than bothersome loot putting strain on storage space. Sometimes, press kits are sent out independently of review copies, and occasionally major AAA titles have multiple press kit waves. To remind journalists that the game exists, maybe? In the case of a title as big as Red Dead Redemption 2, that surely isn't a concern, but we digress. The press kit is comprised of a metal camping mug, a t-shirt and a set of stickers - everything with prominent Red Dead Redemption 2 branding, of course. The shirt is plain black with the word "Redemption" printed on the front with large, red lettering in the typical RDR font. The existence of this shirt was revealed some time ago when a few unverified claims of another press event being held went up alongside leaked images of the clothing item. The mug is somewhat more interesting. A typical red metal camping mug known for being able to take a beating with a large Red Dead Redemption 2 logo on one side and some promotional artwork on the other. Since all promo art for RDR2 so far was stylised on a solid red background, this print works particularly well and makes the mug actually look great, instead of simply carrying generic branding. The stickers are pretty run of the mill. You get a logo cut-out, and a rectangular one with the same key art printed on it as on the mug. They might be useful if you want to advertise your love for Red Dead by slapping them on the cover of your laptop or backplate of your phone - provided it is big enough, which these days shouldn't be much of an issue. Hopefully some of these items will be available to the general public later on - that mug is something we'd definitely buy. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Press Kit Unveiled appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Rockstar Games recently gave fans their first look at what the actual gameplay of Red Dead Redemption 2 will look like. The fandom has hardly been quiet in the past, but the trailer - and promise of more to come - has ignited hype like never before. Let's take a look at all the detailed revealed by the footage. This first look focuses mainly on basic gameplay and the vast open world you will be exploring as Arthur Morgan, enforcer of the Van der Linde Gang. The trailer puts a lot of emphasis on showing off how gorgeous the frontier looks like, and how varied the landscapes you'll be traveling through are. Though a Wild West game through and through, Red Dead Redemption 2 won't restrict itself to the typical setting of plains and deserts. This won't be too new for fans of the series as Red Dead Redemption also offered a wide range of landscapes, but the prequel will be going beyond what we saw in the 2010 title. We'll get plenty of your typical Wild West locales, but joining these will be snowy mountains, swamps and dense forests. One of the first shots we see from the player's perspective sees Arthur riding along mountainous terrain, also giving us our first look at the mini-map. A simple, traditional round compass-like dial in the lower left corner of the screen, the mini-map shows a basic depiction of the area around you. We suspect its opacity will be adjustable. This will also be the only constant HUD element. One of Rockstar's main goals with the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 isn't just to make it pretty or big, or even detailed, since all of these are things they have already achieved in other games. Making the world truly feel alive to set it apart from most sandboxes is the primary goal. While Rockstar made significant strides in this regard with Grand Theft Auto 5, if all goes well Red Dead Redemption 2 will outperform it. There are two sides to this sense of life - interactivity and detail. The Frontier will be one of the most interactive open worlds gaming has ever seen, giving Arthur a wide selection of interaction options with all NPCs he meets. There is a contextual interaction menu that appears whenever Arthur approaches other characters. With random passers-by, you can call out to show you mean no harm, insult them to provoke an encounter or straight up point a gun at them. At other times you'll encounter folk who are hostile by default and don't much appreciate you butting into their business. In these cases, you can try to diffuse the situation diplomatically to prevent conflict. Throughout the course of the game, the Van der Linde Gang will be chased across America's heartland by the authorities, forcing them to pack up and move their camp. This camp will acts as your home, this is where the other member will hang out and where you can come back to between missions to rest, resupply and interact with your comrades. Among other activities, you can play cards to win a bit of change. Arthur will be able to supply the camp with food and other goods in order to maintain a high morale and endear himself to the other members. If you choose to neglect these duties, the other members won't starve to death but they sure will remember how much of a help you weren't. The better your standing with the other members, the more likely they will initiate side quests with you. Your actions have both direct and indirect effects. Sure, saving one bloke from a bear trap is guaranteed to get you a friend, but if you kill someone on the road you might have a vengeful widow or cousin to deal with later on. You can also use past actions as leverage when persuading or intimidating characters. One aspect of gameplay that got a great deal of attention was combat mechanic. Hand to hand combat is made all the more in-depth than simply hitting a punch button, and you'll be using this system plenty - in bar fights, when threatening witnesses or when interrogating prisoners. The shooting mechanics have also been overhauled. Though only briefly mentioned, the footage at one point shows Arthur very quickly switching between a sidearm and a shotgun, the latter of which he carried in the off hand while aiming with the pistol using only one hand. This leads us to assume that the game allows you to customize your combat styles in terms of shooting stances. Carrying a secondary weapon in your arm instead of a holster might decrease the time needed to switch weapons, making you more reactive, while decreasing accuracy due to aiming with one hand. Another interesting tidbit was the brief appearance of the Dead Eye targeting mode, which needs no introduction to any fan of the franchise. We didn't doubt such an iconic mechanic wouldn't make a return, though Rockstar has tweaked it a bit - which they will expand upon in the next video. Looking at past Rockstar titles, while Red Dead Redemption had good gunplay and shooting mechanics, the more recent Grand Theft Auto 5 was weaker in this regard. Many of its guns felt floaty and weightless, with no real kick or heft. For Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar implemented realistic kickback and reloading according to the video. Only brief, disjointed scenes of gunfights are shown, so this is something we'll be able to dig into better when a combat oriented gameplay demo is shown, however what we saw so far indicates that guns will pack more of a punch. We also saw decent variety of weapons, including scoped rifles, various shotguns, bows and a whole lot of pistols. Besides cowboy hats and revolvers, no Red Dead game is complete without horses. We speculated a bit about how in-depth horse related game mechanics will be, but this trailer takes some time to explain. With Red Dead Redemption 2, several entirely new activities are being added to the game allowing Rockstar to deepen how horses work compared to the previous entry. Various breeds will be suitable for different tasks, so you need to fill your stable with several horses to cover your bases. Some are endurant workhorses, suitable for driving the heavily laden carriages whenever you change camp, or carry a deer carcass back home. Others, however, are built for short but very quick bursts of speed in case you need to outrun some lawmen. Grooming and caring for your horse will deepen the bond between beast and rider, making the horse less prone to behaving erratically under duress or during gunfights, giving you the stability necessary to aim from the saddle. Equipping various saddlebags can also act as an extension of Arthur's inventory, allowing you to carry additional weapons into combat, pack extra supplies or have more space to make off with the loot. Hunting will be a major part of Red Dead Redemption 2, as it will allow Arthur Morgan to feed the other outlaws and sell off his kills for extra cash. While Red Dead Redemption already featured a wide range of fauna, this game seeks to implement a dynamic ecosystem that is proactive instead of reactive. Animals don't just exist in this world for the players character to kill, but they interact with one another, seek food and take shelter on their own. Charles Smith, one of the other members of the Van der Linde Gang, is also an expert hunter, and the players will learn a lot from him. It is likely that every side activity will have a gang member who teaches Arthur about the finer points of whatever it is the activity requires of you and accompanies you on training missions. The hunting system also takes a more realistic approach. Not often does a single shot down large game, but rather mortally wounds the animal which, in panic, runs as far as its legs will take it before it bleeds out. Arthur will need to track wounded prey to claim the kill, and the rewards. For a brief moment while the footage shows Arthur tracking the wounded prey, the screen changed to a monochrome colour with the carcass glowing yellow, and a faint floating trail marking the path towards it. Whether this is just restricted to tracking wounded game or a more universal Witcher Senses/Eagle Vision/Bat-sense kind of mechanic is to be seen. Considering how common these have become in AAA games, we wouldn't be surprised. Another mechanic not mentioned but shown is the wanted system. When you are wanted, the top right corner of the screen is dedicated to what looks like a snippet of a wanted poster describing the current status of your pursuers "Dead or Alive" indicates open combat (the minimap changes to red during this time as well), while "Investigating" shows that they lost sight of you but are looking to find you. During the investigation phase, the red fill will begin to deplete from the Wanted text, and if it is empty you're in the clear. The witness system also makes a return. The trailer also has plenty of evidence showing just how extremely detailed the game world is. When showing off the horses, their musculature was realistically modeled and animated. When firing a shotgun in a swamp, a pack of bird flocked off a roof nearby. Punching a bloke with a hat will send the hat flying off his head as a separate physics object. Like GTA 5 before it, Red Dead Redemption 2 will set the bar for visual detail in games for years to come. Stay tuned for further coverage of the new information, as well as upcoming gameplay videos. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Gameplay Trailer Analysis appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Right on schedule, Rockstar Games has published our first look at Red Dead Redemption 2's gameplay. The first in a series of trailers introduces us to the core of the game, the vast open world and various ways to interact with it. Check out the full trailer below. This is the single biggest information drop about the game we got since it was announced, finally giving us a feel of what actually playing the game will be like. Scripted scenes are interspersed with raw gameplay footage showing us the UI, the perspective and the view from which we will enjoy the game ourselves. Coming in at 6 minutes, this isn't just a small lick to tide us over but the real deal. Fans are already hard at work analyzing every minute aspect of the footage seen to dig up something not outright stated by the narrator, but even without delving into that the trailer is a treasure trove of information. The footage shown is captured in-engine at 4K, and the game looks absolutely stunning. Rockstar Games is setting the bar for video game visuals with this release, and one of the first things that jumps out is that they managed to finally nail something video games have struggled with since their inception - facial animations. We've been getting impressive, sweeping vistas and fantastic water physics for years now, but even recent big-budget AAA games couldn't get human faces to look natural when in motion, but based on this trailer, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the first game to venture beyond the borders of Uncanny Valley. The best thing? There is more to come. This is just Part 1 of the gameplay trailer series Rockstar has put together to introduce us all to the world of Red Dead Redemption 2. The next gameplay video will show off the game's various activities, such as missions, hunting and side quests. Stay tuned for our in-depth analysis of the gameplay trailer. The post Red Dead Redemption 2's Gameplay Trailer Is Here appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

It seems that the posters going up in New York did indeed mark the beginning of a stronger marketing push for Red Dead Redemption 2, like we had hoped. Tomorrow, August 9th, Rockstar Games will be posting the first official gameplay trailer for the game. Announced via the Newswire and Rockstar's social media profiles, the gameplay video will be published at 11 AM Eastern Time. 11 AM ET was also the time when the game's second trailer went live, incidentally. The video will be available on their website as well as the official Rockstar Facebook, YouTube and Twitch channels. This will be the first time we get to see Red Dead Redemption 2 in motion in an unscripted manner. All previous footage seen in the previous three trailers was pre-rendered or scripted. Much of the second trailer seemed to be cut together from cutscenes, for example. Hopefully tomorrow's trailer will be raw gameplay, HUD and all included. The trailer's announcement is accompanied by a nice piece of new art depicting what is most likely Dutch based on the attire - the character's face isn't shown - holding a revolver ready to fire. This, of course, doesn't tell us much about the game we didn't know. That will be the trailer's job. We haven't seen any footage of gameplay, nor do we have any raw screenshots so far, meaning tomorrow will be the first glimpse of the game as we, the players, will see it. Tune in for up to date coverage of the new info revealed by the trailer later tomorrow. The post Official Red Dead Redemption 2 Gameplay Video Coming Tomorrow appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

After all this time, the first sign that a big marketing push for Red Dead Redemption 2 is underway has appeared. Fans have sighted a huge collection of posters going up in New York advertising the game. This is likely the first step in a much larger, international publicity campaign mirroring that of past releases. Sighted in Lower Manhattan, New York City, near Rockstar's local offices, was a set of posters set up near one another. First reported by Tom Caswell and Instagram user Tary_n, the posters depict individual character art for John Marston, Dutch van der Linde, Sadie Adler and Charles Smith, as well as a large key art poster and a separate posted with the tagline "Outlaws for Life". While none of these characters are new, the artwork used to depict them hasn't been seen before in other marketing material. The posters reaffirm the October 26 release date, and if it got printed on posters going up in such a prominent location, you can bet that that's when the game will be launched. The key art poster showing the drawing of Arthur Morgan which also adorns the game's box is displayed higher up than the rest and has its own illumination, setting it apart from the other posters. It towers almost like a marker in an open world game, beckoning fans to visit it to see the other displays. In a curious and almost certainly deliberate twist of fate, the large posters emblazoned with "Outlaws for Life" happens to be prominently displayed on a bank building. Whoever came up with that deserves a promotion, though we have the slightest hunch that the bank's employees may not be too cheery about the situation. This was enough to ignite the fandom, many of whom are already hoping for some means to acquire character art posters in the future. This is also likely an indication of the beginning of Red Dead Redemption 2's marketing in earnest, which has been absent so far. Rockstar Games previous high-profile release, Grand Theft Auto 5, allegedly had half of its $265 million budget dedicated to marketing, which manifested in the form of huge murals, liveries on the sides of trams, posters across multiple countries and widespread online advertising. Red Dead Redemption 2, which is intended to be publisher Take-Two's flagship release of the year, will likely get no less attention. Hopefully the activation of the marketing engine doesn't only mean ads, but also more trailers, screenshots and gameplay details. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Marketing Campaign Kicks Off appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Data miners recently revealed a new cross-promotion between Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto Online by digging through the game files of the newest DLC of the latter game, and now Rockstar has triggered said event. Players can unlock a new melee weapon, the Stone Hatchet, in both games after completing a short event. GTA Online players will be contacted by Maude Eccles, who returns from GTA 5's story mode, to hunt down a series of targets. This hearkens back to her role in the story, where she provides protagonist Trevor Phillips with optional bounty missions. Once players complete all the bounties, she provides them with the location of the weapon, allowing them to unlock it in GTA Online. To unlock it in Red Dead Redemption 2, however, you'll need to go the extra mile and undertake the Kills Challenge. Upon getting 25 kills with the Hatchet, you earn GTA$ 250,000 and unlock the weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2. Too easy right!? In order to actually make use of the unlock, you need to make sure you link up with the same Social Club account when it comes to playing Red Dead Redemption 2. The same is true of the other cross-promotion weapon, the Double-Action Revolver, though in that case you only get a weapon skin. Speaking of, the Double-Action Revolver's scavenger hunt event is coming back to GTA Online alongside the Stone Hatchet, so if you missed out on that before, now is your chance to unlock it. It too comes with a GTA$ bonus, and both challenges count PED kills making them rather trivial. The Stone Hatchet also comes with a special enrage ability, giving the player a damage reduction and health regeneration buff. This lapses quickly, however racking up kills will extend it, allowing you to go on a rage-filled spree. Whether this ability will carry over to Red Dead Redemption 2 is unknown for now, but it would certainly make using the Hatchet a whole lot of fun and provided this really is the only way to unlock it, such a strong ability would truly make it feel like an 'exclusive' item. We're guessing this won't be the last cross-promo between the two games, so keep an eye out for future discoveries. The post Unlock The Stone Hatchet For Red Dead Redemption 2 In GTA Online Now appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Fans of Rockstar's games have previously had a chance to augment their future Red Dead Redemption 2 experience by playing a special mission in Grand Theft Auto Online and it seems like a similar promotion will be held once more in the upcoming weeks. Only this time instead of unlocking a special skin, you'll unlock the whole weapon for use in Red Dead Online. The promotion was discovered by data miners who went digging through the game files of the latest GTA Online DLC, After Hours. As usual, Rockstar used the major update to pre-load assets for upcoming content into the game, so later on they only need to flip the switch on tunables instead of forcing players to download the content then and there. This means that unreleased content is sitting in the game files and it doesn't take too much expertise to dig these assets up. Miners quickly found not only the 3D model for the weapon, but all the code references they needed to load up the entire promo in-engine and give players a full walkthrough of it. The last time Rockstar did a promotional cross-over between the two games was a few months ago when players went on a scavenger hunt for a series of clues, taking them across the in-game GTA Online map to eventually find a new weapon, the Double-Action Revolver. The weapon was gold plated with an ivory grip, though unremarkable in terms of performance. Things didn't end there however, with a special headshot challenge being triggered once the weapon was found. Players had to score 50 headshots with the pistol in order to unlock the skin in Red Dead Redemption 2 - just the skin. The challenge wasn't particularly difficult, since PED headshots also counted towards that number. In case the exclusive skin wasn't incentive enough, players also stood to earn in-game currency by completing the challenge. This time, things are being switched up a bit. Instead of a scavenger hunt, players will be contacted by a character who appeared in GTA 5's story mode, Maude Eccles, and given 5 bounties. This mirrors the character's story appearance where she provides Trevor Phillips, one of the three protagonists, with bounties. Upon completing all bounties, Maude reveals the location of the special weapon. The weapon is a Stone Hatchet, based on Native American design, with a special Rampage ability that increases health regeneration and damage reduction for your character so long as you keep scoring kills with the weapon. This ability, called Rampage, hints at the challenge you need to complete in order to unlock the weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2. The Rampage Challenge tasks you with getting 25 kills using the hatchet. Again, killing random PEDs also counts towards that goal, so this challenge is trivial. Once again the reward will be a small sum of in-game currency and the weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2's multiplayer mode when paired with the same Social Club account. News of this upcoming promotion was unearthed by TGFGuru, TheMagixian and tehGramz. So far we don't know when the promotion will go live in GTA Online. The post New Red Dead Redemption 2 Weapon Unlock In GTA Online appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

The hype surrounding Red Dead Redemption 2 has been constant ever since it was first announced way back in 2016, and with Rockstar putting out more official information more frequently it has been mounting. Many people have already declared 2018 the "year of Red Dead" even though launch is months away and there are plenty of other high-profile AAA titles to be released. The question of how many copies Red Dead Redemption 2 is projected to sell has been a frequently asked one, even if getting it right is impossible due to numerous unknowable factors. According to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, they have estimates for the investors but don't much care about exact numbers internally. A few public estimates have also rolled in. Red Dead Redemption 2 will be competing with several major AAA franchises such as the annual Call of Duty and FIFA release, as well as the new Battlefield game that has already kicked up a storm due to its inclusion of playable female characters in a WWII setting (which is absolutely accurate, by the way, and haters merely use an otherwise incorrect historical accuracy argument to thinly veil their misogyny). E3 2018 showed just how scared other publishers seem to be of Red Dead Redemption 2. Many major titles shown off are set to release in early 2019, possibly because the publishers didn't want these games to share a quarter with Red Dead Redemption 2. For example, the new Bioware IP Anthem being released next February. Compared to this, Ubisoft launching Assassin's Creed: Odyssey in October a bold power-move! However, if analyst firm Piper Jaffray is to be believed, Red Dead Redemption 2 won't snag best selling game of 2018 like so many fans believe it will. According to the company's most recent estimates, Call of Duty, FIFA and Battlefield will all outsell Rockstar's Wild West epic. Call of Duty is projected to move 21.5 million copies by March 31st, 2019, while FIFA is set to beat that with 22 million copies. Battlefield 5 (denoted as 6 in the charts because Battlefield 1 was denoted as 5) is closer with 16 million copies. Red Dead Redemption 2 itself is estimated to move 15.5 million copies by the end of March. Pre-orders for Red Dead Redemption 2 have been open since announcement, and the game is so hot that Amazon's pre-allocated stock for PS4 even sold out once. Clearly, a lot of people plan on picking up Red Dead Redemption 2, and most analyst firms vastly underestimated the success of Grand Theft Auto 5. Of course, nobody is expecting Red Dead Redemption 2 to match GTA 5's success, but we have a feeling that the game will be pulling better numbers than Piper Jaffray thinks. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Estimated To Sell 15.5 Million Copies By March appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Rockstar Games has teamed up with publisher Piggyback to release two editions of their official game guide for Red Dead Redemption 2. The Complete Official Guide, as it is called, includes a wealth of information that will help you with your adventure across the heartland of America. Two versions of the guide will be released. The standard edition is paperback and contains detailed descriptions and walkthroughs pertaining to every single mission, character, location and activity in the vast game world. Filled with maps and artwork, the guide will be more than just a physical walkthrough, but more of an encyclopedia containing everything you could want to know about the game and its content. The Collector's Edition, meanwhile, is hardcover with slightly modified cover art kept minimalist with no title. Beyond being physically larger and sturdier, it's also printed on high-quality art paper and contains a special character art section not present in the standard edition. While releasing two separate editions of the guide is a bit strange, it makes sense. The hardcover, classier look of the Collector's Edition really lends itself to be a display piece that you might leaf through a few times but keep in good shape, while the standard edition is good for fans who intend to have it accompany them on their entire journey, leaving it looking like salad by the time credits roll. Since walkthroughs will be readily available online (right here!) and you can read up on story details like character histories on RDR2.org as well, the guide is truly an item geared towards the Red Dead Redemption 2 super-fan who wants the experience of using an actual, physical book, just like in the good old days. Both versions are up for pre-order on the Rockstar Warehouse and will be available via other stores as well. The guide will be released alongside the game itself on the 26th of October, 2018 - making it available any sooner would of course lead to spoilers getting out into the wild and nobody wants that. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Complete Official Guide Pre-Orders Live appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

According to an unverified claim related to a since-deleted image, Rockstar Games has been conducting a new round of Red Dead Redemption 2 gameplay previews with select journalists, leading up to a new publicity wave. The first part of the previous sentence should be warning enough to take this with a grain of salt, but let us stress that the evidence is suspect. Someone claiming to be a games journalist (on an account lacking a real name, only a username, and no means of verifying the identity) stated that a new round of previews were held recently with the embargo on the resulting articles being lifted sometime in August. Additionally, images of officially licensed Red Dead Redemption 2 t-shirts and new store merch surfaced. While the claim about the preview event is extremely shady, the merch and the shirt are backed by photographic evidence and worth talking about on their own. Retailers were sent promotional merchandise for Red Dead Redemption soon after the game was announced, however the design of this newer wave has changed. The previous merch style.It now shows key art of Arthur Morgan, details the recently revealed special edition bonuses and has a whole lot more black compared to the red-dominated art of the older materials. Additionally, screens showing the game's trailers on loop have also been installed at several locations. The t-shirt is a pretty plain piece, with no decoration beyond the word "Redemption" emblazoned on the front in the series' iconic typeface and a small logo patch on the back. It is about as simple as merchandise can get and one would think the designers could have put some cool art on the shirt if the people wearing it will essentially advertise the game for free, but you can bet that more elaborate prints will come later on. When or how you can get one of those shirts is still a mystery. As for the preview rumor, we'll have to wait and see, it is time for more official news in any event! The post New Red Dead Redemption 2 Previews Imminent appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Take-Two Interactive has been shooting down common Red Dead Redemption 2 fan concerns in recent interviews and the latest topic on the chopping board is monetization. When you have one of the most anticipated games of the year coming up you're going to garner a lot of interest from gamers, and amid all the anticipation there can also be worry. Over and over again, fans find ways to draw comparisons between Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5 even though the two are fundamentally different on multiple levels. And yet, due to these comparisons, Rockstar and Take-Two have had to reaffirm their dedication to single player experiences, explain that expecting Red Dead Redemption 2 to match GTA 5's sales is unrealistic, and now, tell us that monetizing every aspect of their upcoming title isn't at the top of their to-do list. GTA 5's multiplayer mode, GTA Online, allows players to purchase in-game currency with real money. There aren't any lootboxes, no RNG, no way to get an unfair advantage with purchases inaccessible to other non-spending players - you can only buy currency. This is hardly the most nefarious monetization scheme in the gaming industry, and Shark Cards have helped fund years and years of free DLC. However, if some elements of the community are to be believed, the aforementioned also means that Red Dead Online is guaranteed to be a microtransaction-laden purchase-fest which you can only enjoy if you pump endless amounts of cash into the game. This assumption is flawed from the very beginning, but nonetheless its spread across the fanbase to the point of becoming a widely held concern. In fact, the concern has became so prevalent that Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick touched upon the topic in a recent interview with GamerDaily.biz. Zelnick was speaking about Take-Two's goal of keeping Red Dead Redemption 2 players engaged after release. What we haven't talked about is any path to monetization because it's just not our primary concern. Our primary concern is keeping consumers engaged. It's true that no official word of what any of the game's monetization models, if any, will look or work like - but then again there has been very little official word about anything at all. While a recent surge in official info seemed substantial compared to the utter drought that preceded it, broken only by occasion announcements of delays, we still don't know a whole lot about the game, or at least less than we'd like. In every interview he's given, Zelnick always highlights that instead of thinking strictly in terms of "what will sell well?" the company focuses on making the best games they can, banking on the quality of their work making it sell, not a slavish adherence to trends. He maintains that their mission with Red Dead Redemption 2 is ultimately to create the best Western the industry has ever seen and they're well on track to accomplish that. Red Dead Redemption 2 remains one of the most anticipated games of the year and will be released on the 26th of October. The post Zelnick Assures Monetization Not Priority In Red Dead Redemption 2 appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

The projected success of Red Dead Redemption 2 is a frequently discussed topic among fans and professionals alike, and is also often touched upon publicly by high ranking executives at Take-Two Interactive. The amount of hype the game generated in the months after its announcement, back when we didn't know anything about it, was more than what some games with full marketing managed, so the its success is inevitable. But to what extent? One of the most common comparisons drawn, and standard to which people intend to hold Red Dead Redemption 2, is Rockstar Games' most recent release, Grand Theft Auto 5. It makes sense at first glance, as both games are installments in popular and critically acclaimed franchises from one of the best-known game developers. Both are vast open world adventures that push the boundaries of what games can deliver in terms of visuals and depth of detail. However, comparing Red Dead Redemption 2, or indeed anything, to GTA 5 is being rather unfair to whatever you are comparing. GTA 5 recently crossed the 95 million copies shipped mark which, since then, has certainly reached 100 million. The game is also the single most profitable media product ever created, eclipsing any other game, movie, TV show, song, album or any other work of media in terms of revenue. Those are some colossal shoes to fill, and really, expecting any other game to do it is more than a little unreasonable. GTA 5 defied many known conventions of the industry to get where it is at. Beyond some unique circumstances, a healthy amount of luck also played a part in this achievement. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick knows this, and stated how unrealistic an expectation it would be to gun for an equal measure of success for Red Dead Redemption 2. Speaking with Gamesindustry.biz, Zelnick expanded upon how at Take-Two they don't assume victory until the sales are actually in. We don't believe in our success until we deliver it. We never claim victory until it's occurred. We have very powerful, smart, capable competitors bringing great products to market and we need to win - that means we have to work harder than the next guy. The above quote is a direct response to E3 2018. Many fans have already declared 2018 as "the year of Red Dead" due to the amount of hype the game is getting. There is no denying that it is among the most anticipated games of this year and has pretty good chances of being the best selling one, but it does have some stiff competition. I think a healthy degree of paranoia and insecurity about releases is probably a good thing. I'm fond of saying that arrogance is the enemy of continued success. Strauss Zelnick revealed that at Take-Two they don't like attaching exact numbers to sales projections. Pre-orders help gauge interested and the data derived from them are invaluable to retailers, however in the grand scheme of things, post-launch sales are the main attraction. Take-Two and Rockstar are confident that Red Dead Redemption 2 will do well financially and bring a tidy profit, but they are reluctant to go into greater detail with their expectations. Take-Two's E3 booth had no games on display.However, the numerous comparisons to GTA 5's success have reached Zelnick as well and he addressed this tidbit directly. It's hard to expect anything to perform as well as the most profitable entertainment product of all time. I don't think that's a realistic expectation. For all the hype Red Dead Redemption 2 is getting, hype only goes so far. The long-term success of GTA 5 may have inadvertently cast a shadow over the upcoming Western epic. 100 million copies is a big, fancy number that sticks in the mind. What doesn't stick in the mind is that GTA 5 sold that much over the course of 5 years, across 5 platforms, with 3 distinct releases, drawing upon more than 10 years of brand recognition and after the snowball effect of the huge player base had a profound impact. The problem with the rampant comparisons to GTA 5 is that the human brain is awfully terrible at making and maintaining logical connections, and gamers are often particularly quick to render judgment. If this idea that the two games need to be rivals is engrained in the fanbase, Red Dead Redemption 2 not selling 100 million copies within mere days of launch will be considered a failure by some due to how skewed viewpoints become. For a very long time now the question hasn't been whether Red Dead Redemption 2 will become successful, but how successful it will be. A return on investment is pretty much guaranteed - though we don't know the game's budget, based on GTA 5's $265 million, we wouldn't guess that it went too much above that. Several million copies will likely be sold on day-one. Rockstar Games has been kicking the hype machine into gear with more trailers, screenshots and the reveal of the special editions these past months with a promise of more info more frequently here on out. The post Take-Two CEO: Red Dead Redemption 2 Selling As Much As GTA 5 Is Unrealistic appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Red Dead Redemption 2 and its dearly wished-for potential PC port have been highly contentious topics among the community ever since the game was announced, sparking debate and argument of occasionally ridiculous magnitude. Now a new tidbit of information has surfaced, having equal chances of being either a mistake or an accidental leak of what may be the biggest news regarding RDR2 since it was confirmed. The image which all of this is about first surfaced on a subreddit dedicated to Grand Theft Auto 5 and easter eggs hidden in the game. One particular egg hunter “theinsightfulwatcher” discovered an interesting entry on the LinkedIn profile of a former Rockstar Games employee. The moderators of the Red Dead Redemption 2 subreddit have confirmed that the entry really was present on the profile (since removed), however the identity of the developer has not been shared for obvious reasons. The image is simple – it just shows the work experience of the developer, citing their time at Rockstar Leeds with the names of the games they worked on as well as the platforms on which those games have/will be released on. Thing is, next to Red Dead Redemption 2, PC is listed alongside the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. It might be accidental. It might be a mistake and the developer didn’t work on a PC port of Red Dead Redemption 2, and there might not be such a port at all. But it also might be correct. Gamers far and wide have been highly vocal of their interest in a PC port for Red Dead Redemption ever since it was released back in 2010. The game achieved a high level of popularity and remains oft-praised, however no port ever materialized. The only way to play the game on PC in any official capacity is using the PlayStation Now streaming service – which may actually be the reason why there is no port. Since Red Dead, as a franchise, never made its way to PC, the chance of Red Dead Redemption 2 materializing on the platform is also weak. Grand Theft Auto 5, a game from a franchise that was born on PC and from which all games eventually got ported, took two years to make the leap and even then only a tiny percentage of GTA 5’s gross sales were for that platform. Considering that Red Dead Redemption is on PS Now and Sony has a timed exclusivity deal with Rockstar Games, we wouldn’t be surprised if they are somehow responsible for a PC port not appearing yet. We also wouldn’t be surprised if Red Dead Redemption 2 eventually popped up on PS Now and does’t get a dedicated port. It’s also worth noting that the “leaker” developer in question left Rockstar in November 2016. It is possible that there was a plan to release Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC, but the plan was scrapped for any number of reasons – like maybe the deal with Sony that makes any Red Dead game on PC exclusive to their streaming service. This does give us PC players more hope than ever before, even if it isn’t much as it is. Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on the 26th of October while we wait and hope for a PC announcement. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 For PC Possibly Leaked appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Take-Two Interactive is fighting against the narrative that in the wake of Grand Theft Auto Online’s success, the company will work on maximizing the profits by using similar monetization methods in all future games. While Red Dead Redemption 2 had only a limited, behind-closed-doors presence at E3 2018, the game publisher’s CEO did answer some questions. Strauss Zelnick’s statements, while not revealing any new information about the game proper, give some insight into how things work at Take-Two and Rockstar, what direction the company wants to take, and what aspects of game development they prioritize. Though the questions didn’t directly aim at these issues, two frequently voiced fan fears were also addressed. You can read the whole interview with VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi here. It’s an interesting piece of insight into Zelnick’s business philosophies and is worth reading for people who care about the industry side of things. There is, however, also a few answers that help us glean a bit about what to expect from Red Dead Redemption 2. After the huge successes of Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto 5, the expectations for Red Dead Redemption 2 are colossal, and high expectations like these carry with them worry. After GTA 5’s once announced single-player DLC was quietly canned and the focus was shifted to Online, players began to worry that the success of the multiplayer mode would result in Red Dead Redemption 2’s single-player portion being half-assed, with emphasis placed on multiplayer. This has been the most prominent worry among fans ever since the announcement included a line stating that the game will also have a multiplayer mode. An official Rockstar statement recently confirmed that the company is also committed to single-player experiences, which did help with the unrest, but only so much. Zelnick was asked about the state of single-player games in an industry dominated by competitive e-sports and battle royale games being streamed en masse. His stance was clear, and reassuring: Single-player, in my opinion, is not dead, not even close. Companies that feel like they’ll just avoid the hard work of building a story and characters and go right to where the money is in multiplayer, I don’t think that’s going to work. I’d be surprised. In fact, it was the very success of GTA 5, in spite of the high player counts of Online, that provided further evidence that single-player experiences are still sought after. At launch, GTA Online was not included, only the story mode, and it broke all sales expectations. We certainly feel like there’s no evidence that people don’t want a single-player, because they’re still playing Grand Theft Auto V. Another concern voiced by players quite frequently is now that Rockstar has a clear model for a financially successful game, they’ll just copy it. Some are afraid that Red Dead Redemption 2 will just be GTA 5 all over again with a Wild West skin. While the reports of gameplay demos shown to press earlier this year helped assuage this fear, the fact that the public hasn’t seen any of that footage means it’s still afoot. Zelnick addressed the innovative and creative nature of the design philosophy prevalent among Take-Two’s subsidiaries. He sees creativity as a key resource and asset, and the success of the games developed by the companies under the aegis of Take-Two prove him right. We say that our strategy is to be the most creative, the most innovative, and the most efficient. We really encourage our creative teams to follow what they’re passionate about. We give them a lot of resources to do that. We don’t tend to be focused on what used to work – “Let’s replicate what used to work.” We’re very focused on what’s on the cutting edge, what’s going to engage and entertain consumers in the future. We’re willing to take measured risk. When we get it wrong, we’re collaborative with the studios. We don’t point fingers. While the frequent releases of 2K makes this more apparent in their case, comparing the more spaced out Rockstar titles prove this as well. Simply taking a look at a running comparison between GTA games shows that aside from a general iconic formula, the series has changed and evolved significantly. Red Dead Redemption 2 is nearing release and the hype has been mounting nonstop since the initial announcement of the game. In the past few weeks, news flow has begun to pick up and soon more and more information will be revealed to the public. Based on various accounts from journalists we have an idea of what to expect but are yet to see the game in action. The post Strauss Zelnick Says Single Player Is Far From Dead appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Though the general public didn’t get to see any of it, Red Dead Redemption 2 was actually there at E3 – just in a restricted capacity. E3 2018 brought back a trend that was missing these past few years in that several games that were announced had behind-closed-doors demos, available only to select members of the press. Thing is, Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 demo was done in such a secretive manner that even some of the most prestigious sites only learned of it by accident. It is said that there was a relatively small room to which only a very small selection of journalists were admitted where the demo was presented. Reporters form Eurogamer and Ars Technica both confirmed the existence of The Room. As far as the general public was concerned, Take-Two played a power-stunt at E3 this year with a huge, luxurious booth that had precisely zero marketing purpose. It was a massive expenditure with no direct profit value and amounted to the company flaunting how much money Red Dead Redemption 2 will earn them later in the year. Rockstar Games provided a press demo during an event in Edinburgh earlier this year which resulted in some of the first gameplay details being revealed about the game. After that, the marketing machine finally picked up and we started getting somewhat more official info, including the reveal of the game’s many special editions. If we were to look at how Rockstar marketed their previous games, then a new trailer showing gameplay should be imminent. A similar publicity model has been followed ever since Red Dead Redemption, with L.A. Noire and Grand Theft Auto 5 following it too. Based on how things went for GTA 5, we should be getting a new trailer in July. The fact that some digital pre-order bonuses are also expiring on the 31st of July dictates that some kind of marketing move will be played before then to push those pre-orders harder. In today’s AAA industry, pre-orders are very important for companies as a way to gauge interest and project sales numbers. Pre-orders also help retailers estimate how much retail stock to order. Red Dead Redemption 2 will launch on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on the 26th of October. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Shown Off Behind Closed Doors At E3 appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

E3 is fast approaching and gaming publications left and right are posting their tamest and wildest predictions for the biggest annual gaming show. It’s generally accepted that Rockstar Games doesn’t flaunt its titles at a big show like this but there have been exceptions. Last year there were also rumors of Rockstar possibly showing off some Red Dead Redemption 2 footage at E3. However, most likely due to the delays, this never came to pass. This year may bring change for a number of reasons and the biggest one can be traced back to an E3 from a few years ago. In 2014, Rockstar Games announced the Enhanced Edition of Grand Theft Auto 5, which was a port of the game coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, during Sony’s press conference, showing footage of the Enhanced Edition running on a PS4. Though it’s true that this wasn’t a dedicated Rockstar presser, and the company is a rare presenter at E3, there are other examples in the past – like the Agent announcement which was also tied to Sony. Rockstar Games and Sony go way back, with the PlayStation 2 being the real first home of the 3D era GTA games. Agent was supposed to be a PlayStation 3 exclusive. With the two companies being so close, it wasn’t too surprising when Red Dead Redemption 2’s marketing material was PS4 co-branded. Limited timed-exclusivity on Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC has already been confirmed, showing that there is some kind of marketing deal going on between Sony and Take-Two Interactive. This leads to the possibility that Red Dead Redemption 2 might get some time in the spotlight at E3 2018 – just not via a dedicated Rockstar panel. Take-Two doesn’t usually mix the affairs of 2K and Rockstar Games, with the former developing and publishing enough games frequently to warrant their own presser. This way instead of a unified publisher-based conference, Rockstar’s footage might be passed on to a business partner – in this case, Sony. Sony has been using the PS4’s larger library of console exclusives to push the marketing of their machine, and even if we’re talking about timed DLC exclusivity here, it still fits the theme. Showing off such a highly anticipated game like Red Dead Redemption 2 using a PS4 would make sense from a marketing perspective. As for the specifics of what we can expect, there is really no telling. One good guess would be that the gameplay demo shown at the press event will now be shown to the public as well, or at least an abridged version of it. Nobody should be expecting any hands-on demos, but some actual gameplay footage instead of the edited and scripted in-engine trailers would be nice. Additional information regarding the game may also be released leading up to or right in the wake of E3, however if Red Dead Redemption 2 isn’t shown off during the event, don’t expect any tangential info to be revealed by Rockstar during that period. They like to publicize their games when there is no competition for attention, which is why they usually avoid E3. E3 2018 begins on the 12th of June. The post Can We Expect Red Dead Redemption 2 At E3? appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

With the recent unveiling of Red Dead Redemption 2’s various special editions a bunch of new information has also been revealed about the game. However, without context, some of that new information was easy to misinterpret and the conditions of how some content will be present in the game is unclear. Among the bonuses for purchasing the Special or Ultimate editions are a pair of missions accessible in the game’s single player Story Mode. One is a bank robbery and the other is a Gang Hideout mission. Both of these sound like the kind of generic side-activities you’ll find multiple of across the game’s map in various regions. However it’s also possible to assume that these missions would contain story content or narrative details that are this way locked behind a paywall of sorts and some fans arrived to this conclusion. This led to many calling out Rockstar over social media, which in turn prompted the developers to clear things up. On Twitter, Rockstar’s official account has responded to a concerned fan’s statement regarding the two Special Edition missions. Note the fan mistakenly associated the Gang Hideout and Bank Robbery bonus missions with pre-orders. The Bank Robbery and Gang Hideout included in the RDR2 Special Edition are side activities created specifically for that edition and are not part of the main story. — Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) June 4, 2018 Adding single player missions to special or collector’s isn’t exactly a new practice. These missions are never part of the main storyline and may not even have actual narrative content at all, rather being exclusive gameplay sequences with some kind of unique in-game item as a reward. Gang Hideout missions were present in Red Dead Redemption as well, where they were smaller side activities that saw Marston clearing out camps of outlaws due to their criminal status. As such, it is easy to assume that the missions with the same name will be similar in nature. During the press event in Edinburgh it was also revealed that bank robberies are also a feature of Red Dead Redemption 2, as side missions, and are entirely optional – thus not part of the main storyline. In case you’re buying the Standard Edition of Red Dead Redemption 2, you needn’t worry about missing out on story missions. Red Dead Redemption 2 will arrive on the 26th of October, 2018. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Edition Missions Confirmed Not To Be Story Content appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Yesterday Rockstar Games officially unveiled all special editions and pre-order bonuses for Red Dead Redemption 2. Since many of the extras you get for pre-ordering or buying a special edition are in-game items, we also got our first glimpse into how some of Red Dead Redemption 2’s mechanics and features will look and work in practice. Players who pre-order the game will get the War Horse and the Outlaw Survival Kit. We’ll get back to the horses, but the Survival Kit already tells us plenty. The kit will be filled with consumables that can restore health and Dead Eye. This rules out generic regenerating health, for one thing. In awe at the size of this lad. Absolute unit.Stats Combine that with the in-game stat boost bonus of the Special Edition and you have a clear indication of light RPG elements. The Core Stat Boost will give increases to Arthur Morgan’s Health, Stamina and Dead Eye ‘cores’ as the description calls them. These will likely be the character’s primary attributes that one can increase by ranking up or using items. One way of increasing stats with items is via the use of talismans. These can be worn on various items of clothing like boots and your satchel, and two are included in the special edition – one buffs your Environmental Awareness skill, and the other offers damage reduction. Additional talismans will also be available in the game. It is unclear what the Environmental Awareness skill entails, however based on recent trends in games, we suspect it might be one of those “important things temporarily glow” abilities like Eagle Vision/Witcher Senses/Batvision/Built-in Deus Ex Face Sunglasses that are so common recently. Damage reduction, on the other hand, suggests additional stats beyond the three core stats. Horses Returning to the horses, the various editions and pre-order bonuses bring the total special reward horses to three, which is a large enough basis of comparison to see what we can expect – and that happens to be unique body types and a wider range of stats for horses. Ardennes drafthorses are absolutely huge and have a muscle mass visibly greater than pretty much any other breed, and the game reflects this difference. The screenshot showing the Red Dead Redemption 2 incarnation of the war horse proves that it is an absolute unit, while the other horses are different in their shape. Additionally, mount stats can be further altered by what saddles you use. Included in the special edition is a Nuevo Paraiso saddle, while the Ultimate Edition has a High Plains Cutting Saddle, both with different stat bonuses. The small objects on his satchel may be talismans in this screenshot.Outfits Red Dead Redemption 2 will also feature a mix between Red Dead Redemption’s fixed outfit system and GTA 5’s mix-and-match clothing system. Various editions include different exclusive outfits for either Arthur Morgan or the Red Dead Online protagonist, however the individual elements of the outfits are explained in detail. Additionally, during the recent press event with the 45-minute gameplay demo, it was discussed how hitboxes are so precise that your hat can be shot off your head if the enemy aims so. In this case, you need to pick the hat up manually or lose it forever, necessitating the buying of a new hat, which proves that individual clothing items are also available. Camps It has also been revealed that in Red Dead Online players will be able to customize their camps. One of the Ultimate Edition bonuses is instant free access to the “Survivor Camp Theme”, which likely affects the decoration and possibly facilities present in your character’s camp. We’re curious to see how camps will be implemented – will players be able to just set up camp anywhere, or will there be fixed locations? If the latter, how will the game deal with multiple players camping in one spot? GTA Online solved this with instancing multiple identical apartments in the same building, but that option isn’t present here. Red Dead Online Ranks Red Dead Online will also feature a similar rank system to GTA Online, where you can climb the ranks by completing missions. This is evidenced by the rank boost bonus in the Ultimate Edition which increases your RP gain rate until you reach rank 25. Missions On the mission front, it is confirmed that Gang Hideout missions will return, with the difference being this time that instead of trying to get rid of criminals for the greater good like Marston did, you’ll be plundering your fellow outlaws for riches and teritory. Though, the game is set back when Dutch was still and idealistic Robin Hood-esque fellow, so maybe it’s a case of the “good” outlaws fighting the “bad” outlaws. Other Details A few additional tidbits have also surfaced. One of the larger settlements in the game will be called Saint-Denis, which is described as a busy port city. Red Dead Redemption 2 will also feature weapons not present in the previous game, such as the Lancaster Varmint Rifle. Keep an eye out for more info about Red Dead Redemption 2 in the coming days and weeks! The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Details Revealed By Special Editions appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Ever since Red Dead Redemption 2 marketing materials were sent out to retailers it was clear that Take-Two and Sony had huddled up real close. All the material was PlayStation 4 co-branded with text stating that Red Dead Redemption 2 is “best enjoyed on PS4”. Until now, we had no details about what this meant, but some kind of exclusive deal on content was apparent. Red Dead Redemption 2 is still a multiplatform game releasing on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One simultaneously on the 26th of October, with the timed-exclusivity deal referring to content for the game, rather than the base game itself. In today’s reveal of the game’s special editions, Rockstar included a telling statement: PlayStation® Exclusive: Play select content first on PlayStation®4. Details to follow. “Select content” is a very wide term, however Sony has some other timed-exclusivity deals with multiplatform titles that can serve as an example – most infamously, Destiny 2. Destiny 2’s major expansions, which fuel its games-as-a-service model and keep players coming back for more, are released on PS4 first, leaving Xbox and PC players to wait for the content that keeps the game worth playing. Beyond dividing the community and sparking animosity towards developers and publishers from less-informed players who don’t know that console manufacturers strike these deals, timed-exclusivity likely achieves little. The vast majority of mainstream and casual gamers have one console and they won’t go out and buy another system just to play DLC a week sooner. People who own both consoles and will have their choice of which one to buy a game for swayed by timed exclusivity is, I guess, a very small demographic in the grand scheme of things. But then publishers and console manufacturers keep making these agreements so there must be some statistics backing up the business viability. Red Dead Redemption 2’s post-launch content support is something we know absolutely nothing about at this point and all pre-order bonuses have been confirmed to be identical on both platforms the game is being released on. Whether the ‘select content’ applies to minor item packs, GTA Online-style multiplayer DLC or full-blown expansions is anyone’s guess. Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released on Xbox One and best enjoyed on PlayStation 4 on the 26th of October, 2018. The post Rockstar Confirms Timed PS4 Exclusivity On Red Dead Redemption 2 Content appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Yesterday we reported on a screenshot leak of Red Dead Redemption 2’s pre-order bonuses, taken on a quickly removed page from the official Microsoft website. Now, Rockstar Games has officially confirmed those pre-order bonuses alongside the reveal of the game’s many special editions. The pre-order bonuses are all identical to what was detailed in the leak, simply with more details. Base Pre-Order Bonuses The War Horse and Outlaw Survival Kit will be awarded (in story mode) to anyone who pre-orders the game in any form through any retailer. The War Horse has greater stamina and is less likely to be frightened than other horses, and the survival kit is a pack of consumables. Players who pre-order the game digitally get both of those, plus an in-game currency bonus for the single player mode of the game. If you pre-order digitally by the 31st of July, you’ll also get a digital in-game treasure map which marks the locations of hidden chests. Depending on which edition of the game you pre-order, you also get extra funds to spend in GTA Online on the same account. Pre-ordering the standard edition, which is just the base game, will grant you GTA$ 500,000, the special edition gives you GTA$ 1,000,000 and the ultimate edition gives GTA$ 2,000,000. Note that this only applies to digital pre-orders, which is why the Collector’s Box isn’t listed here. Special Edition In total, Red Dead Redemption 2 has three different special editions alongside the base game. The first, and smallest, special edition is called just that – Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Edition. The goodies it comes with apply to the single player Story Mode only. These include two missions, a bank robbery in Rhode and a gang hideout mission against the Del Lobos Gang. Additionally, players will get a special horse (the Dappled Black Thoroughbred racehorse), a pair of talismans giving you environmental awareness and damage reduction buffs when worn, the Nuevo Paraiso Gunslinger outfit, and instant access to a selection of in-game weapons. Money bonuses and shop discounts add on top of everything else. Ultimate Edition The Ultimate Edition, which as opposed to what its name implies isn’t the biggest special edition, includes all of the above as well as bonuses for the game’s Online mode.These include a pair of special outfits, the Blackrose Bounty Hunter outfit and the Copperhead Enforcer Outfits, as well as a horse and saddle to match – the Black Chestnut Thoroughbred and the High Plains Cutting Saddle. You also get free access to the Survivor Camp Theme for you to customize your hideout (thus confirming camp customization) and early access to a number of in-game weapons – the Volcanic Pistol, Pump Action Shotgun and Lancaster Varmint Rifle. Players also get an RP gain buff, helping you rank up faster until you’ve reached rank 25, after which it is back to normal rates. Collector’s Box Finally, we have the Collector’s Box, a huge metal tithing box filled with Red Dead Redemption 2 goodies. The box itself is a looker on its own, being colored deep red with black bindings. In it are a physical treasure map, a metal pin set, a deck of playing cards, a collectible challenge coin, 12 cigarette cards, a bandana and a double-sided puzzle set with vintage artwork. Additionally, there is a 150 catalog for the in-game Wheeler, Rawson and Co. shop. The collector’s box is available from select retailers, as well as the Rockstar Warehouse. Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on the 26th of October, 2018. The post All Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Editions Revealed (Official) appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

This has got to be one of the leakiest pre-E3 periods in recent years. Beyond AAA title after AAA title being revealed way ahead of schedule, the full pre-order bonus list for Red Dead Redemption 2 has been leaked via the official Microsoft website. Additionally, the game’s special editions will be revealed at the E3 event. Red Dead Redemption 2 pre-orders have been live ever since the game was announced. For many people a pre-rendered cinematic and a name was enough to fork over the $60 in advance – so much so that the game has already sold out once on Amazon before restocking – and now we finally know what that overeager loyalty won you. On first glance the goodies you get for Red Dead Redemption 2 seem like nothing special, but then fans of the previous game in the series have a very special treat waiting for them – the War Horse. In Red Dead Redemption the War Horse was a pre-order incentive, as well as being DLC and included in the GOTY edition. Sporting the best overall stats in the game, the War Horse was given to players who pre-ordered the game right off the bat negating and horse-taming or buying element of the game (unless you specifically wanted to do that). It also looks beautiful. Beyond this blast from the past, fans who already ordered the game will get something called the Outlaw Survival kit – likely in-game weapons, clothing items and consumables – a story mode cash boost of an indeterminate amount and GTA$ 500,000 bonus to be spent in GTA Online on the same account. Players who pre-order before July 31st will also unlock an exclusive in-game treasure map. This likely works as a timesaver, helpfully marking all hidden treasure on your in-game map and thus removing any challenge or sense of accomplishment from finding them on your own damn self. This dating further reinforces the leak that more info will come during E3 (for a change). Since the source of this leak is a straight up screenshot from Microsoft’s store page, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be legit, something quite rare in the world of leaks. While many players swear by the War Horse, others dislike the idea of such a high-level mount just being given to you for pre-ordering, thus trivializing a whole game mechanic. Beyond that, there isn’t too much of interest included, but who are we kidding, you’re pre-ordering it anyway. Be on the lookout for more Red Dead Redemption 2 info in the coming days and weeks. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Pre-Order Bonuses Leaked appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Many of Take-Two’s top brass often discuss their games at Cowen & Company conferences and company president Karl Slatoff recently spoke about DLC plans for Red Dead Redemption 2 in New York. Since these aren’t press events meaningful confirmations shouldn’t be expected, but we do gain some measure of insight behind the scenes. Rockstar Games has an interesting relationship with DLC. Historically speaking, they were more invested in larger but less frequent single-player expansions, like the two episodes for Grand Theft Auto 4 or Undead Nightmare for Red Dead Redemption. Multiplayer DLC for RDR was also present, however in a smaller capacity. Come GTA 5, the game’s Online component started receiving a steady stream of free DLC. Though officially announced soon after release, no story DLC for GTA 5 was ever released and over the years it became apparent that it got quietly canceled behind closed doors. GTA Online, however, continues to receive new content and many blame it for the cancellation of the singleplayer DLC: The question of how Red Dead Redemption 2’s post-launch content support will look like has been a hot topic among fans ever since the announcement. Based on GTA Online’s model, it is clear that a steady schedule of free DLC is extremely profitable for Rockstar and Take-Two. However, the core fanbase still prefers single player content and is worried that Red Dead Online will get all the attention. Karl Slatoff’s comments regarding DLC are diplomatic and inconclusive, likely because the company has laid out an announcement and promotion road plan that doesn’t include a primarily finance-oriented conference event which gets minimal reportage. Across the board, we do see downloadable content as an interesting business model for us. It depends on a game-by-game basis whether that makes sense. Rockstar has specifically said that’s something they would contemplate in the future but hasn’t made any specific announcements about Red Dead or any of their other games going forward. It is a very lucrative model for us; it is a very compelling model for consumers because it allows them to continue to engage in the game in a way they are used to engaging with the game. Thing is, the way he words the comment it seems more focused on multiplayer DLC. The success of GTA Online’s DLC in keeping players coming back for more and engaging with the game’s microtransaction (or “recurrent player spending opportunities” as Take-Two calls it) system are well known which might explain the “very lucrative” description. Statistically, the singleplayer expansions of older games were unfortunately quite the opposite of lucrative. The popularity of Red Dead Online will likely determine the future of the game’s post-launch content. Prior to the release of GTA 5, Online was expected by Rockstar to be a minor element of the game with little success that would be forgotten in a couple of months, which is why single player DLC was planned, but then the explosive success of the multiplayer mode reshuffled their priorities. A similar shift may alter what gets focused on with Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar has promised to reveal more information about the game in the coming weeks, so we might learn more about what to expect. The post Take Two Discusses Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Over the past week there has been an unusual flurry of Red Dead Redemption 2 news, finally from official sources. Between a new trailer, new screenshots, demo impressions and an interview, it’s clear that Rockstar is dialling up publicity efforts for the game to the maximum. With so much to work through, sometimes the details slip by players – such as Rockstar confirming multiple special editions. In the wake of the third trailer’s publication, Rockstar Games shared several batches of screenshots across their social media platforms and the Newswire. While all images were accompanied by a lick of flavor text, everyone rushed to painstakingly analyze the images themselves, and thus, aside from a few folk who actually read the descriptions, everyone missed a juicy little detail. Stay tuned for more Red Dead Redemption 2 info next month including first details about the game’s special editions and more. “Special Editions”, eh? While it is customary for popular AAA titles to ship with not just one Collector’s Edition alongside the base game, and instead with multiple editions with various pricing, Rockstar never really jumped on this boat. Red Dead Redemption had no special editions save for a GOTY edition that contained Undead Nightmare and Grand Theft Auto 5 only had the one Collector’s Edition. While we don’t expect Red Dead Redemption 2 to go overboard with various editions like Assassin’s Creed games usually do, knowing there will be two or more non-standard editions opens up a lot of possibilities. We previously covered what items might go into a potential Red Dead Redemption 2 collector’s edition a long time ago and it seems that maybe some of those concepts will see the light of day. Your most common special edition format includes the game, a CD with the soundtrack, an art book and a statue. Some games toss in some special DLC or in-game items as well, or a fold-out map. That said, some games go above and beyond with their special editions. Splinter Cell: Blacklist had an actual remote-controlled airplane,and one of Mass Effect: Andromeda’s editions had a remote-controlled Nomad. Some editions have wearable goods. One of Watch_Dogs’ special editions had the protagonist’s iconic mask and hat included and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s collector’s edition included Geralt’s wolf pendant. Others, again, have replicas of in-game items such as weapons instead of statues of characters. Red Dead Redemption 2’s rarely explored Wild West setting gives Rockstar the chance to do something really unique with the game’s special editions. A replica of one of the in-game cowboy hats coupled with a bandana would be the best choice for wearable goodies, for example. While a replica Cattleman revolver would be impressive, it might make availability a tricky question. Rockstar promised further information on these various editions in the coming month, so stay tuned for our coverage. The post Red Dead Redemption 2 Will Have Multiple Special Editions appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

At a recent press event at Edinburgh a number of gaming outlets were shown a demo of Red Dead Redemption 2, revealing gameplay elements to which the general public hasn’t been privy to. Alongside the details already revealed by the new trailer and the various impressions posted by English language publications, a French outlet has posted an interview with additional details. JeuxActu spoke with Rob Nelson on-site, who is the Co-President of Rockstar North. Rockstar San Diego is the primary studio working on Red Dead Redemption 2, however Rockstar North is also in on the project, and is the main studio of the company. While there is a clearly limits on what Rockstar wants to reveal about the game and when, meaning nothing groundbreaking has been said, there were a few new slivers of useful information. In the interview, which can be read in full here, Nelson confirmed that work on Red Dead Redemption 2 started basically the moment that Red Dead Redemption went gold. This means that for a full eight years now, Rockstar has been working on this game. Now, I don’t say it’s been in development for eight years for a reason, because technically the concepting and prototyping phases aren’t part of development as we understand it. Nelson said that while work started in earnest once Red Dead Redemption was released, some of the folk over at Rockstar San Diego already began concepting a sequel for the game before development on the original even finished. He also stressed that the company made the most of those eight years – which brings up the question of why the game needed to be delayed for “polish”, but then Rockstar has a reputation to uphold. The influence of Grand Theft Auto 5 was often brought up in the interview. Even though GTA 5 is the first Rockstar title ever to be released on the current generation of consoles, that was a port of a seventh-gen game. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the first game developed specifically for the then-next now-current generation of consoles. This, according to Nelson, allowed the team to implement the lessons learned during the development of GTA 5 without restrictions. Due to the hardware limitations, a lot of the ideas that went into GTA 5 were reeled in and multiple elements of Red Dead Redemption 2 will be what the company wanted to pack into GTA 5, but couldn’t because of inadequate hardware. This is most apparent in the interactivity of the game world. GTA 5 is notable for how proactive and alive the game world feels, and how it is content on continuing to exist and thrive even if the player doesn’t affect it. Many game world are just there to react to the player’s actions, but Los Santos keeps things interesting on its own. It has been used for simulations, for driving AI development, and one experiment even tagged camera angles to NPCs to show how much goes on without player input. Red Dead Redemption 2 is going to go even further, with the frontier being the closest thing to a real world and ecosystem as games have ever gotten. Naturally, Rockstar is super secretive about story details, and Nelson made sure not to slip up any crucial information – but we did learn an interesting element about protagonist Arthur Morgan’s past. The personal bodyguard and right hand man of gang leader Dutch was compared to John Marston and Nelson expanded on how different the two characters are. In doing so, he revealed that Morgan has been running with Dutch since he was a small child and is this utterly loyal to him. Now, we don’t quite know how old Dutch and Morgan are, but based on appearances alone they can’t be too far in age. I’d say they are just about the same, but then Dutch is very well kept and regal-looking, which might make him seem younger than he is, while Morgan’s rugged and rough look might make him seem older. But even then, only a couple of years should separate them. Thus, if Morgan was with Dutch as a kid, then they very well may be childhood friends, and Morgan may be a founding member of the gang. Nelson didn’t go into further detail on purpose. He did reveal two gameplay elements though – Arthur’s hair will grow dynamically over time and he confirmed with concrete words that there will be no other protagonists in the game. This is Arthur’s story and he’s who we all will control, no one else. Red Dead Redemption 2 launches on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on the 26th of October. The post New Red Dead Redemption 2 Details Revealed By Translated Interview appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story

Between the new trailer, new batches of screenshots and the preview event held in Edinburgh for press, Rockstar Games is finally kicking off the marketing for Red Dead Redemption 2 in earnest, like we suggested they should. After releasing a selection of high-quality screenshots, including both stills from the trailer and images from the game that did not appear in that footage, they’ve revealed yet another batch. Red Dead Redemption 2 is shaping up to be quite the experience. With light RPG elements, distinct AI programming and a focus on characters, Rockstar is consciously trying to highlight the elements of the game that support its narrative side to lay all worries of single player being neglected in favor of multiplayer to rest. Some survival elements will be found in Red Dead Redemption 2. Morgan will be sometimes tasked with hunting food for the gang, and there will be different factors that affect the quality of the meat you take home. Depending on what animal you slay, you’ll need to carry it on the back of your horse instead of in your inventory. In this case, you need to get back to camp quick, or the meat will start to rot. Arthur Morgan will have the chance to outfit himself in a wide range of clothing. It isn’t yet clear if your choice of attire affects stats in any way, but it allows a greater feeling of player agency. Additionally, you’ll likely find yourself buying a lot of hats – if some lawman misses a headshot and knocks your hat right off, you’ll lose it permanently unless you go and pick it up. Like Red Dead Redemption in 2010, Red Dead Redemption 2 will feature a wide range of wildlife – much of it dangerous. Likely the reward for trophies taken off larger prey will fetch you better rewards. All the NPCs of Red Dead Redemption 2 will react differently to situations, however if you ride around like Morgan is in the picture above, you can bet on a largely universal response. While in Red Dead Redemption Marston was usually a lone wolf, you can expect other members of Dutch’s Gang to ride with Morgan quite often. Uh, Rockstar, spoilers? Sure, we don’t know to whom they graves belong, but hey, all the other members of Dutch’s Gang had to go somewhere between the events of this game and Red Dead Redemption. It’s a bit counter-intuitive, making so many new, engaging characters with the knowledge that all of them are likely to bite the dust. Did you hear that John Marston is in this? John Marston is in this! Those smoke effects are also really nice. Rockstar really is gunning for Red Dead Redemption 2 to be the visually most appealing game this year. The vast world of Red Dead Redemption 2 hides danger and opportunity alike. As an open-world game, exploration is encouraged, and treading off the beaten path will likely lead you to valuable rewards or interesting content that players dead-set on the main storyline will likely miss. Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released on the 26th of October on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The post Further Red Dead Redemption 2 Screenshots Revealed appeared first on RDR2. Read the full story