Rockstar Games has a funny definition for spring 2018. But hey, we all knew another delay was likely. Rockstar is like SpaceX. They can’t hit a schedule, but when they deliver, man do they deliver.
The sequel to one of Rockstar’s most treasured games is coming on October 26, 2018. That’s after a previous schedule included fall 2017 and spring 2018.
“We apologize to everyone disappointed by this delay,” Rockstar writes in a blog post. “While we had hoped have the game out sooner, we require a little extra time for polish. We sincerely thank you for your patience and hope that when you get to play the game, you will agree the wait will have been worth it.”
Delays are a bummer, but a bad game is even worse. I don’t care how long it takes, just make a worthy prequel to the first Red Dead Redemption.
It’s not just gamers reacting to today’s news. Boardrooms across the gaming industry are having an ‘oh shit’ moment. October 26 is right smack in the middle of peak holiday game releases. Which games with releases planned for this time will blink and move up or back?
The Call of Duty’s and Battlefield’s of the world have strong enough franchises to weather Red Dead Redemption 2’s release date. But it’ll be fun to watch how the calendar shakes out once E3 comes and goes. Something tells me Red Dead Redemption 2 will stand alone that week.
Rockstar Games says they will be “sharing a lot more information with you in the coming weeks.” I’m anxious to see how Red Dead Online (or whatever they end up calling) looks. Microtransactions are a huge revenue source in GTA Online and are all but guaranteed to be featured in Red Dead Redemption 2’s multiplayer.
Look for Rockstar to balance the instant pushback of microtransactions with an absurd amount of content on day one. It all comes down to how they’re implemented.
Rockstar dropped six more screenshots along with today’s blog post. Man, I can’t wait to see this running on my Xbox One X.
