Rockstar Games'Red Dead Redemption is probably one of the most anticipated games of the year, and fans are expecting a release date sometime this fall. News has it that the company has already started shipping out merchandise for the game to retailers, and fans should take this as a good sign.

According to Gaming Bolt, though Rockstar has a reputation for making high-end open-world games, they also have a bad rap when it comes to meeting the deadlines that they announce for their games. It turns out that delays have been a constant thing with Rockstar, and fans would not expect anything different with the release of RDR 2 - or should they?

Having the merchandise for the game shipped off to the retailers this early could mean that the development of the game is ahead of schedule, and fans could expect a release this coming fall. Of course, delays on the release should not be totally ruled out, but it's nice to keep a positive outlook when it comes to these games. After the ridiculous amount of negativity came from 2016, gamers should try to be more positive with the titles coming out this year.

Among the merchandise that was released, there have been pictures of posters for Red Dead Redemption 2 as well as cardboard cutouts. Release dates have been shifting from "Fall 2017" to "Autumn 2017," but those two seasons are basically the same thing. It has also been noted that there is a PEGI 18 game rating on the promo materials.

The release of the early promotion material is also speculated as a move of Rockstar to try and rake-in pre-orders this early in the game. Pre-ordering is somewhat frowned upon by some people in the community - because it "encourages" developers to release unfinished games - but with a title like Red Dead Redemption, a lot of people are sure to line-up once pre-order becomes available.

No final release date has been announced for Red Dead Redemption 2, but it is expected to come out sometime in the fall of 2017.