'Red Dead Redemption 2' news, updates, rumors: Leaked game maps likely suggest earlier release date?

It has long been reported that Take Two is planning a follow-up game to the successful "Red Dead Redemption" action shooter video game. The next installment of the "Red Dead" series, informally dubbed as "Red Dead Redemption 2," is expected by many to be released in the near future, with a few rumors pointing to an earlier release this year. While Take Two and Rockstar, the successful publisher and game developer behind the highly popular "Red Dead" series, have not spilled any details as of yet about an upcoming game project, the fans are relying on speculations and leaks online. Just recently, a leaked photo of the alleged game map from "Red Dead Redemption 2" has circulated online, reinforcing the rumors that the latest "Red Dead" game will arrive soon.

Neogaf was reported to host the first leaked photo of "Red Dead Redemption 2" game map that has since been shared on different online video game forums and fansites.Tech Radar has noted the statements of its unnamed "independent" source, saying that the leaked game map appears to be a "very recent art direction map" for the new game. Shortly after the photo was posted in the Neogaf forums and gained so much attention, it was eventually taken down by the user. However, some fans have saved the copy of the leaked image as they continue to share the image online.

A report from the PC Advisor noted the fans thinking that the leaked game map suggests a trip down the memory lane for the upcoming video game. The "Red Dead Redemption 2" may be a prequel of the second "Red Dead" video game, the "Red Dead Redemption." It was thought by many that the third "Red Dead" installment will continue the story of the second chapter. The alleged leaked game map was also noted by some fans to be set east of the "Red Dead Redemption" map.

PC Advisor reported a statement from the Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick during the Cowen and Company Analyst Conference in May 2014 where he said that a new "Red Dead" game after "Red Dead Redemption" is not off the cards.

"It seems quite obvious that Red Dead is a permanent franchise," he said, adding "the risk of just (releasing more games) is that you end up just bulking up your release schedule and that isn't really what consumers want. Consumers want better, not more," Zelnick said.