The Red Dead Redemption 2 launch is barely a week away, and there is some bad news for independent game stores and buyers. Many stores across the United States won’t have Red Dead Redemption 2 for launch.
Kotaku published a story detailing the events leading to dozens of stores across the country not being included in the launch day. The outlet interviewed several store owners from Pennsylvania, New York, and Colorado that all said the same thing—they won’t have the game for launch day, and maybe not until November. Distributors reached by Kotaku said there was an issue with supply. The various store owners were skeptical of that, because it just doesn’t happen.
Movie and video game rental service GameFly won’t have the game available immediately after launch. In an email the company said, “Our supplier has indicated that we will not receive the game prior to its release date. We do not expect to ship PS4 discs before Wednesday, November 7.”
Red Dead Redemption 2 could be having a supply issue, as the boxed retail copy of the game is rumored to be shipping on two discs. Most games “go gold”—and begin mass production of physical media—between four and eight weeks before their release date. Rockstar is working on post-launch support for the game which likely went gold near the beginning of October. As the second most anticipated game this year, the Red Dead Redemption 2 launch could have fewer physical copies than it should.
Independent game stores are in intense competition with big name retailers like GameStop and Best Buy just to keep their doors open. Some stores Kotaku spoke with could be losing over $60,000 in pre-order sales alone, which is crippling to these businesses. Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two Interactive have not commented on the issue. Red Dead Redemption 2 launches on October 26 for PS4 and Xbox One.
