Is ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ Canceled, Delayed, Or Heading To Nintendo NX?


Red Dead Redemption 2 has been the subject of numerous rumors ever since it was announced — and then was never revealed at E3 2016. Much like Grand Theft Auto VI, the wild west open-world action adventure has been one of the most anticipated sequels to a Rockstar Games franchise. Its absence at the Electronic Entertainment Expo left many wondering what happened.

Some have speculated that the game took such a long time in its production that Red Dead Redemption 2 may have been canceled at the last minute. Some games have proven to be a waste after all the years we waited for them, like Duke Nukem Forever and Mighty No. 9, notorious cases of delays becoming little more than a letdown. Rockstar Games hasn’t been that way, though, almost always improving the series with each sequel no matter how long it takes.

One rumor points to the possibility that the title hasn’t been decided, and it was pulled at the last minute to avoid confusion. This is doubtful, though, since Red Dead Redemption 2 could be enough of a title on its own, and the going subtitle has been Legends of the West for a while now.

While Rockstar Games focuses on GTA Online for now, President of Take-Two Interactive Karl Slatoff has said he wants to avoid “product fatigue,” and it may be delayed to 2017.

The most popular reason for the pulling of the gameplay trailer at the last minute was its similarity to current events. In Orlando, Florida, there was a mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub, where 49 people were killed before the gunman was killed by police. The scene included in the trailer was said to have the hero walking into a saloon and shooting everyone in it.

In this case, it was out of respect for the fallen that the gameplay trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2 was pulled from E3 2016. There were too many parallels, and Rockstar Games may have wanted to avoid the media firestorm that might have erupted from it. Being the publishers of the Grand Theft Auto series, they have certainly seen their share of controversy in the media, up to and including being blamed for gun violence in schools.

If the game is still set for release this year, the Orlando shooting was likely the reason for the absence of a trailer at E3 2016. If not, and the game has been delayed, it could be the result of something we weren’t told.

The hint was dropped on the Street, as Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed an interest in possibly developing for the Nintendo NX.

“It could be very exciting. You never want to count Nintendo out. They go quiet for a while and then they come to market and do something really exciting. We are very interested and watching closely the development of what Nintendo plans to do next.”

This could mean that Nintendo might be getting Red Dead Redemption 2 if Take-Two can get it there. It’s not likely considering Nintendo’s history of avoiding violent games. This was heavily apparent when Mortal Kombat hit the home console market in the 90s. The “blood” had been replaced with “sweat” on both the SNES and Genesis, though the latter had a code which made the pixels red again.

What do you think is the possible future of Red Dead Redemption 2? Was it canceled, delayed, or being planned for Nintendo NX?

[Image via Take-Two Interactive/Rockstar Games]

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