As the ever approaching release date for Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 closes in for those eager to jump into the Wild West, retailers are gearing up for what's sure to be a busy weekend in their electronics departments with shipments of the game surely coming in the next few days, if not already. While the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 is slated for this Friday, at least one retailer is being given the go-ahead to hand out copies a few hours early.

The latest weekly ad for major retail chain Target shows a listing for Red Dead Redemption 2 being available for pick-up starting on Thursday, October 25th, at 9pm local time. Purchasing options available at that time include both the standard and deluxe physical versions of the game, which were learned to be coming on two separate blu-rays discs given the massive size of the game. Those who wish to get ahead of the game and pick up Red Dead Redemption 2 a few hours early will also receive a free Rockstar pin set. For anyone who plans on getting the PlayStation 4 Pro Bundle packed with the game in it however, they'll have to wait until Friday to pick it up.

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The option to pick up Red Dead Redemption 2 early from a major chain store like Target runs opposite of similar stories which surfaced last week. Due to the predictably high demand for the game, it was learned a number of small business game stores won't be receiving copies of Red Dead Redemption 2 until as early as November. It's a huge blow to these smaller businesses, given a recent study showed Red Dead Redemption 2 is the second most anticipated game coming this holiday, just behind Call of Duty Black Ops 4.

There are a few possible reasons for allowing consumers to pick up copies of the game early. One could be Target wanting to avoid keeping employees clocked in for a midnight launch by reducing both hours worked and overhead costs for leaving stores open a few more hours. Another reason could be the push of giving people the choice of physical over digital by offering hard copies of the game three hours early, because even though the file size required for Red Dead Redemption 2 is massive, pre-loads for the game began a week ahead of release, giving players plenty of time to download the entire game before launch day.

Red Dead Redemption 2 releases on October 26th for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Source: Target