Rockstar Games heads west again: 'Red Dead Redemption 2' announced for 2017

By Gabe Gurwin October 18, 2016

gta red dead redemption reddeadmarston — Image used with permission by copyright holder

No longer will fans have to speculate, plead, or pray to a picture of the Houser brothers: Red Dead Redemption 2 is indeed real, and it’s arriving next year.

Developer Rockstar Games made the announcement official on its website this morning, dating the game for a fall 2017 release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

“Developed by the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America’s unforgiving heartland. The game’s vast and atmospheric world will also provide the foundation for a brand new online multiplayer experience,” reads the official announcement.

A third image, following the two we’ve seen in the last two days, was also released alongside the news, showing seven outlaws, each holding weapons that appear to line up with the equipment we’ve seen in previous games — this won’t be a “modern” Western like Call of Juarez: The Cartel attempted in 2011.

Just a few hours before the announcement, fans became aware that Rockstar parent company Take-Two had registered “RedDeadOnline.com,” which is likely what the “brand new online multiplayer experience” mentioned in the announcement is referring to.

This branding would also line up nicely with the company’s other major property, Grand Theft Auto, which bundled the multiplayer components of Grand Theft Auto V into Grand Theft Auto Online shortly after the game released in 2013.

The multiplayer component of the original Red Dead Redemption — itself a successor to the earlier Red Dead Revolver — was praised in its own right, with Vice’s Jake Tucker calling it “the best part of the game” and “the best emergent mode that Rockstar has ever realized.”

As the announcement does not make mention of a PC version of the game, it’s unclear if Red Dead Redemption will be coming to the platform at all. The game’s first trailer will release on Thursday, October 20, at 11 a.m. ET.

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Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

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After a brief introductory sequence showing how each of the playable characters, referred to as Slayers in Dead Island 2, end up on the doomed evacuation plane at the start of the game, you are forced to pick who you will play as. If you hadn't played the first game -- and considering it came out over 10 years ago we wouldn't blame you if you hadn't -- then you may not know that your choice of character is more than just cosmetic. Each of the six playable Slayers not only starts off with its own stat distribution from the others but with two ability cards as well. In a narrative sense, almost nothing is different depending on who you pick, so this decision all comes down to choosing the right character for how you prefer to play. Don't let the excitement of bashing in some zombie heads rush your decision and first make sure you understand just how important this choice is in Dead Island 2.
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Shuriken
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Chem Bomb
This is the second unmissable Curveball and is given to you inside the Halperin Hotel to put out a fire. It is good for more than just fire control, though, since you can use it to make zombies wet and susceptible to electricity.
Caustic-X Bomb
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Electric Star
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Pipe Bomb
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Molotov Cocktail
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Electric Bomb
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Flashbang
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Sticky Bomb
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Bait Bomb
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Nail Bomb
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