Video game Red Dead Redemption 2 officially slated for late 2017 release

Rockstar Games has finally announced Red Dead Redemption 2 on Tuesday (Oct 18), following light teasers earlier in the week - whetting the appetites of fans worldwide. PHOTO: ROCKSTAR GAMES/ TWITTER

Fans of popular western action-adventure video game Red Dead Redemption: hold your horses.

Rockstar Games has finally announced Red Dead Redemption 2 on Tuesday (Oct 18), following light teasers earlier in the week - whetting the appetites of fans worldwide.

A tweet by the American video game publisher confirmed that the game will be released in the fall of 2017. In slightly over two hours, the tweet received more than 57,000 retweets and close to 65,000 likes.

Fans could hardly contain their excitement in following outlaw John Marston on his road to redemption in the new game.

A trailer is set to be released on Thursday (Oct 20) at 11am (Singapore time, 11pm).

The game is the third in a series of Red Dead games. The first, Red Dead Revolver, was released in 2004 for the Playstation 2 and Xbox. Set in the 1880s Wild West, it had a compelling narrative built around the main protagonist Red, who is a bounty hunter. The game sold 920,000 copies in North America by July 2010.

Sequel Red Dead Redemption was released on May 18, 2010 to critical acclaim, with many reviewers praising the gameplay and technical improvements over its predecessor.

Red Dead Redemption, which won Game of the Year awards from various gaming publications, revolves around the story of John Marston. Marston is a former outlaw whose wife and son are held hostage by the government in return for his services as a hired gun. So he sets out to bring the three members of his former gang to justice.

Available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the game has shipped over 14 million units as of August last year.

Red Dead Redemption 2 has been described by Rockstar Games as "an epic tale of life in America's unforgiving heartland". Like its immediate predecessor, it also boasts a "vast and atmospheric world". It is set to be released on the PS4 and Xbox One.

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