Red Dead Redemption 2 game will be the biggest thing to happen for cowboy hats since Westworld, promising an all new western adventure from the masters of the open world. Perhaps just as exciting as chance to saddle up for single player again is the rumors of a new Battle Royale mode. Think PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds but with more horse poop.

Whatever the new Red Dead Redemption 2 is hiding under its chaps, we're ready. It's been seven years since the original, and we've never quite got over those sweeping desert rides or that incredible ending. Red Dead Redemption 2 will arrive on PS4 and Xbox One on October 26, until then, here's everything you need to know about this potential game of the year contender.

Fast facts
Red Dead Redemption 2 release date: October 26, 2018
Formats: PS4, Xbox One
Developer: Rockstar
Price: $59.99
Red Dead Redemption 2 has a confirmed release date of October 26th, 2018 for PS4 and Xbox One

We have a confirmed Red Dead Redemption 2 release date of October 26th, 2018 with publisher Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick saying he was 'confident' there would be no more delays. This isn't the first time the game has been pushed back, however. When Rockstar first announced it was pushing back Red Dead Redemption 2’s release date from Fall 2017 to Spring 2018, our inner outlaws were crushed. Hadn't we waited long enough for a sequel to the 2010 masterpiece? The developer cited the upcoming sandbox sequel “needs some extra time” to get it up to the standards we all expect from the first game out of the studio since Grand Theft Auto 5. Since then, an earnings call with Rockstar’s parent company shed further light on the reasons behind the delay.

Speaking to investors in late May 2017, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was adamant that Red Dead Redemption 2 has merely been delayed to ensure can Rockstar “deliver the most extraordinary [experience] we’re capable of providing.” When an analyst subsequently asked if the delay signaled the epic Old West adventure is suffering development woes behind the scenes, Zelnick was quick to shoot down the suggestion.

"We have not run into particular issues," Zelnick said. "We are building a new game from the ground up for the first time for new-generation consoles. And the pressure that we put on ourselves to deliver excellence and to delight consumers is extraordinary.”

Zelnick went on to add that Rockstar has the full backing of Take-Two over the delay. "We support emphatically the label's decision, and we are utterly confident that it will prove in time to be wise first and foremost creatively and artistically, economically as well." Turns out, when your previous game sells over 70 million copies (and counting), a publisher is going to back you no matter what.

Red Dead Redemption 2 leak from Trusted Reviews points to three new online modes, vehicles and multiple open-world activities
We'll talk in more detail about the rumoured new online modes below, but the volume of open-world distractions listed by Trusted Reviews sound promising. Activities include herding, fishing, a poker mini-game, gold mining, and a variety of shooting challenges. Rumour is you'll constantly receive rewards for your adventures e.g. for travelling a set distance, and the world will feel much more alive, with shopkeepers packing away their stalls at the end of the day. Plants and herbs can be collected, as per the previous game, and you'll be able to upgrade your tents, much like GTA Online's apartments. There's also talk of an official companion app, plus vehicles such as handcarts, minecarts and horse-drawn carriages; with hints you'll be able to ride a train. As plausible as it all sounds – and the Trusted Reviews leak did contain two new images which look fairly authentic – this is far from confirmed. Watch this space.

Red Dead Redemption 2's trailer validates all those prequel fan theories
Meet your new Red Dead Redemption 2 hero: outlaw Arthur Morgan. Our first introduction doesn't exactly present him as the 'take him home to mother' type. We're sure there's more to him than threatening people and robbing banks, but right now, all we know is he's rough around the edges and in the employ of original RDR antagonist Dutch van der Linde - which sets the game's timeline firmly in prequel territory.

According to the information overlords at Rockstar, the new game is "the story of outlaw Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang as they rob, fight, and steal their way across the vast and rugged heart of America." We also get to see a few new faces: a woman who looks strikingly like the original's Bonnie MacFarlane - leading some fans to wonder if it's her mother - and a Native American character who advises Morgan on needing extra firepower. We also see another familiar face: Bill Williamson, a known member of Dutch's gang, and the first outlaw John Marston is set to track and kill in Red Dead Redemption.

Red Dead Redemption 2's trailers so far show Rockstar’s most visually stunning open-world ever

No one does lonely Wild West spectacle quite like Rockstar. Just rewatch the Red Dead 2 trailers. Golden prairies that stretch as far as the eye can see. Cavernous valleys where eagles dominate the skies. Simmering deserts that immediately recall the iconic sights of Monument Valley. Alligators lurking in swamps; snowy, treacherous paths. Rockstar sandboxes always contain exquisite lighting and insanely incidental detailing, and its latest world looks like it’ll top everything that’s come before.

Red Dead 2 has strong foundations to build on, too. If you’re lucky enough to have the hardware, play GTA 5 on PC at 4K and tell us it’s not one of the most consistently gorgeous games ever made. Now consider that the engine has benefitted from a few subsequent years of development, aging like a particularly sumptuous (and super shooty) wine, and there's every chance Red Dead Redemption 2 will be the prettiest open-world game ever made when it launches towards the start of 2018. At the very least, the trailer hints at a beautifully varied sandbox, filled with epic canyons, dense forests, and spectacular Old West vistas.

The Red Dead Redemption 2 map looks like it’s already been leaked
This looks pretty legit. Early last year, a Red Dead 2 map was leaked on (RIP) NeoGaf. The fidelity of the design - and specificity of the names on said map - only lend further credence to this being an accurate blueprint of the Western world we’ll hopefully all be roaming around next year.

Look closely at the leaked map, and you can see an area labelled ‘The Great Plains’. This significant chunk of prairie real estate was one of the most visually striking locales from the first Redemption - remember that sweeping valley with all the grazing buffalo.

The presence of islands and caravan sites on the leaked document are also interesting. Couple the former with the trailer shots of the canoe, and it would seemingly all but confirm that boat travel is in Red Dead 2. The inclusion of caravan sites also suggest this is a less-populated take on the Old West than the original Redemption’s. Again, this points towards Red Dead 2 taking place before Marston’s adventure, during a time when the American Frontier was still being discovered by European settlers.

Red Dead Redemption 2 characters could be swappable, like GTA 5
We may have met our protagonist, but the artwork so far definitely leans on the idea of the classic Wild West posse. With so many strong characters appearing in the latest trailer, it wouldn’t be that much of a shock to see Red Dead 2 follow on from GTA 5 with more criminal-swapping missions.

Controlling and switching between multiple characters worked brilliantly in Los Santos, and the prospect of potentially hopping between various outlaws in Red Dead 2 is tantalizing. Would Rockstar have the stones to allow you to control every one of the seven figures seen storming into the desert at the end of Red Dead 2’s first trailer? Mechanically, it would be a big ask. Swapping between upwards of five characters could become a logistical nightmare, but Rockstar is nothing if not ambitious.

Alternatively, the posse play could be a big part on the online world that will come with the game. Start deciding which of your friends you can trust with a horse and a six shooter now.

Red Dead Redemption 2's setting will feature more water
John Marston was not a strong swimmer. Hell, if the outlaw so much as dipped a toe in the waters of New Austin, swift (and decidedly soggy) death awaited. Thankfully, it looks like Morgan will get along swimmingly - sorry - with the wet stuff in Red Dead Redemption 2. Rewatch the trailer, and about thirty seconds in you can quite clearly see two figures paddling upstream in a canoe.

Water played a big part in GTA 5 - whether it was daring, submerged scuba dives to bust into secret government facilities, or scanning the ocean floor for nuclear waste in a mini-sub - so it wouldn’t surprise us to see river-based missions play a substantial role in Red Dead 2. Even the last game had a fantastic river quest: remember We Shall Be Together in Paradise? It saw Marston venture into Nuevo Paraiso for the first time, his Mexican adventure kicking off in style as Irish helped the charismatic cowboy paddle upstream on a raft against a hail of bandito gunfire.

If the original Redemption can give us a great on-water mission - in spite of Marston’s suck-ass swimming skills - surely Red Dead 2 and its canoes can serve up some H2O treats? Providing another mode of transport other than horse riding would certainly make traversing Rockstar’s latest sandbox more diverse, too.
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