With the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2016 just a month away, speculations are rife that New York-based game developer Rockstar Games shall formally be unveiling its open world Western action-adventure video game “Red Dead Redemption 2” at the event to be held in Los Angeles.
Since “Red Dead Redemption” was released on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 way back in 2010, the release of its sequel is almost assured next year even in the absence of official confirmation from Rockstar.
What seems rather surprising with regards to the latest rumors about the game is that there are reports saying that “Red Dead Redemption 2” may have some sort of connection with the action-adventure video game “Mafia 3” from 2K Games, reports News Everyday.
Apparently, a city of New Bordeaux in “Mafia 3” has been added to the leaked gameplay map of “Red Dead Redemption 2” which hinted of a possible crossover between the two popular video game franchises.
However, these rumors remain as speculation pending the confirmation from both Rockstar and 2K Games. Gamers would know more of the real score about this rumor next month when “Red Dead Redemption 2” is finally unraveled at the E3 2016.
A change of plan
There are also speculations as of late saying that Rockstar might not push through with the launching of “Red Dead Redemption 2” at the E3 2016.
The rumors came about as a result of the latest statement from Karl Slatoff, president of Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games.
Slatoff was quoted as saying that the company finds it a challenge to annualize its franchises, which is why they don’t intend to change their strategy in game launchings because doing so would subject their games to product fatigue.
He explained that Take-Two creates franchise values and the games’ releases are managed deliberately. He added that while it is tempting to have annual releases and milk a franchise as far as game developers can, there have been too many cases of franchise fatigue in the gaming industry, details the Ecumenical News.
However, critics believe that franchise fatigue does not apply to the roster of video games under the stable of Rockstar Games because the company hardly releases games on a yearly basis.
Almost confirmed for launch
The official unveiling of “Red Dead Redemption 2,” the sequel to the 2010 hit video game, is almost confirmed to happen at the upcoming E3 2016.
However, developer Rockstar Games seems to be under pressure at the moment, not from anything, but from the previous performance of “Red Dead Redemption” when it was released on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 almost six years ago.
Apparently, “Red Dead Redemption” sold over 14 million copies since it was unveiled in 2010, which made it officially as one of the greatest games of all time and easily ranks as one of the finest gaming experiences of the last generation.
With that in mind, Rockstar needs to be sure that when “Red Dead Redemption 2” comes out in the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 after its launching, it has to be equally successful as its predecessor, if not better.
And the only way that Rockstar can do that is if it considers all the inputs of the gamers after it launches the game at the E3 2016 and perhaps allow players to try out a prepared gameplay or walkthrough of “Red Dead Redemption 2.”
That being said, the reports are now saying that “Red Dead Redemption 2” will likely be released next year and not later this year because Rockstar would like to play it on the safe side. The developer does not want to toy with success especially for a video game that is being groomed to become its next permanent franchise.