Red Dead Redemption 2 Will Sell at Least 15 Million Copies, Analyst Says

Earlier today, Rockstar Games officially confirmed that Red Dead Redemption 2 is in the works and will launch in fall 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Now, research firm Cowen & Company has released a statement in which it says the western stands to sell at least 15 million copies. In fact, 15 million in sales might be "conservative," the firm said in a release today. That's in part because the first Red Dead Redemption was received very well by critics and fans alike, with the game's reputation "grow[ing] in stature over the years."

Red Dead Redemption sold 13 million copies, though that figure is only accurate as of February 2012.

Additionally, Cowen & Company's release pointed out that Rockstar's latest marquee game, 2013's Grand Theft Auto V, has shipped 65 million units, which it claims is evidence of the "increased concentration of unit sales in top titles since Red Dead Redemption's release in 2010."

Like GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2 may bring in more money beyond initial unit sales through its "brand-new online multiplayer experience." It remains to be seen how this will work for Red Dead Redemption 2, but GTA V lets people spend real money to acquire in-game money--and it's been big business.

The Cowen & Company report also mentioned that Rockstar "does have a history of title delays." Interestingly, the firm believes Red Dead Redemption 2 might have already been delayed, even if this was not communicated outside of the company. Rockstar possibly wanted to ship the game in Take-Two's April-June 2017 quarter before deciding on the fall 2017 window, Cowen & Company said.

Red Dead Redemption was delayed multiple times before its release in May 2010.

We don't know much about Red Dead Redemption 2 at this point. A teaser shows seven different characters, but there is no word on if it will be a prequel or a sequel to Red Dead Redemption, which itself was a follow-up to Red Dead Revolver. We will likely learn more on Thursday, October 20, when Rockstar releases a trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2.

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What would you like to see from Red Dead Redemption 2? Let us know in the comments below.