Red Dead Redemption 2 release date, pre-order bonus news: Cash, treasure map, War Horse up for grabs

The launch date of Red Dead Redemption 2 is inching near and now there really is reason to be excited as Rockstar has announced the pre-order details for the highly anticipated game. 

According to IGN, all digital preorders of the long-awaited sequel to the original Red Dead Redemption will be rewarded with GTA Online cash - $500,000 for the Standard Edition while the Special Edition gives a bit more at $1m and the Ultimate Edition offers a luxurious $2m. 

Promotional photo from Rockstar Games Rockstar Games

The Standard Edition can be found here at Walmart for PS4 / Xbox OneMicrosoft, and the PlayStation Store

In addition to the cash, the Special Edition, available here, comes with some exclusive content including a bank robbery mission and gang hideout in story mode, and the Nuevo Paraiso Gunslinger outfit.

The Ultimate Edition, which can be preordered here offers some extra goodies such as the survivor camp theme and more weapons. 

Then there's the Collector's Box edition that comes with additional items like a metal tithing box, six shooter bandana, and playing cards.

But according to IGN, whether digital or otherwise, all preorders will give buyers the War Horse from the first game and The Outlaw Survival Kit, which offers Dead Eye and health-boosting items.  To get the treasure map, you need to preorder before July 31.

And according to Polygon, all digital pre-orders give Morgan in-game cash "enough to buy a weapon, some food, a handful of useful items and ammunition."

Red Dead Redemption 2 is all set to launch to the PS4 and Xbox One on October 26, 2018, which is later than Rockstar had intended it to be out. 

Rockstar explained the reason for the delay in a previous announcement  in which it promised that the game would be worth the wait: "We are excited to announce that Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released on October 26th 2018. We apologize to everyone disappointed by this delay. While we had hoped to 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. In the meantime, please check out these screenshots from the game. We look forward to sharing a lot more information with you in the coming weeks."

Fans have been patiently waiting for the successor to the 2010 hit original game that even after so many years remains a firm gamer favorite.

The trailer released in May teases a stunning-looking game:

Newsletter Stay up to date with Christian Today
News
Calls for an end to the sexualisation of children in schools
Calls for an end to the sexualisation of children in schools

The Coalition for Marriage is taking on a "summer of sex" campaign planned by a Labour MP at Westminster.

Free speech concerns surround proposed conversion therapy ban
Free speech concerns surround proposed conversion therapy ban

Any law banning "abusive conversion practices" would almost certainly infringe on freedom of speech.

Pope warns of ‘digital neocolonialism’ and calls on Church to defend human dignity in age of AI in first encyclical
Pope warns of ‘digital neocolonialism’ and calls on Church to defend human dignity in age of AI in first encyclical

Pope Leo XIV has used his first encyclical to warn that artificial intelligence and emerging technologies risk deepening global inequality, concentrating power in the hands of a few and creating what he described as “colonialism in another form". 

A growing number of Protestants say others don’t know they’re Christian
A growing number of Protestants say others don’t know they’re Christian

The honesty of churchgoers about gaps in living unashamed reveals large numbers have room for growth in this important aspect of discipleship,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.