For years, Rockstar have been keen on reminding its investors of the money-making potential of its Red Dead Revolver franchise. Back in February, the publisher announced Red Dead Redemption, the sequel to its first western shoot ‘em up. However, since the announcement, Redemption has been pushed into 2010; with no announcement of its new release date. But, that’s all about change.

With a lot of heavy hitters, hitting within the first quarter of 2010, Rockstar has announced that Red Dead Redemption will release on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in April, that’s within the exact same time-frame. However, if that wasn’t enough, the publisher also announced that a new trailer will premiere on December 1 for Red Dead Redemption.

“The team at San Diego have massively exceeded our expectations with the sheer depth of experiences in Red Dead Redemption,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “The seamless combination of breathtaking beauty and intense action, all woven together with strong plotlines in a massive vibrant, rural environment is mind-blowing. We think this game helps to push the limits of what an open-world gaming experience can be.”

It’s official! DICE announced today that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will be available March 2, 2010 in North America and March 5, 2010 in Europe.

“The variety of weapons, choice of vehicles and scale of destruction in the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 sandbox environment generates countless unscripted and unforgettable moments,” said Karl Magnus Troedsson, Executive Producer Battlefield Franchise, DICE. “When Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ships in March, it will deliver the best online multiplayer experience ever.”

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will deliver a level of destruction, vehicular warfare, squad play and open world environments never before experienced in a modern warfare action game. By pushing destruction to new heights and delivering a host of land, sea and air vehicles, players will soon witness the best-in-class online warfare experience.

Midway Newcastle may be on the verge of closing its doors, but that hasn’t stopped it from announcing its development on its newest IP, Necessary Force. However, its announcement isn’t a lost cause, the studio hopes that it can end its seek for a buyer with it.

Develop even had the chance of meeting up with studio head Craig Duncan to talk about the game, which after three months of work is playable, and says the team is not giving up just yet.

“The idea of a detective who sets his own rules is the sort of story that’s been around in movies for a while, but we don’t think anyone’s managed to capture the essence of those choices and consequences in games,” said Duncan. “That unprecedented level of open world influence and troubled morality is something we’re really keen to explore.”

“It’s really important that people know that this is a team that wants to stick together – sometimes when you look at buying a studio you can worry that the real talent, the people, will just flee the ship, leaving you with some IP, kit and an empty building; the pieces of the puzzle that aren’t really worth anything,” he added.

“But everyone here as worked together for at least two years, with the original core team still together after about ten years. We’ve been through the ups and downs and all want to stay working together.”

“Despite all that’s been going on, we’ve only had three people leave this year – it just goes to show that everyone wants to stay together, how galvanized they are as a team. They don’t know if they’re going to have a job in a month’s time, but they’re still putting in a huge amount of effort now; staying until nine in the evening working on this – and that’s because they’re all so motivated by the great project we’re working on.”

When the makers of the Grand Theft Auto series announced that they were doing  a following up to ‘04 western shooter Red Dead Revolver, we strapped on our riding boots and pumped bullets into our six-shooters.

Okay, that actually didn’t happen. But, if you watch the trailer below, you may be inclined to do something cowboy-like.

“The team at San Diego have massively exceeded our expectations with the sheer depth of experiences in Red Dead Redemption,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games.

“The seamless combination of breathtaking beauty and intense action, all woven together with strong plotlines in a massive vibrant, rural environment is mind-blowing. We think this game helps to push the limits of what an open-world gaming experience can be.”

In reports earlier today, it was reported that the open-world sci-fi title Borderlands had gone fully cel-shaded, which is what you’ve seen in  something like the Naruto video games, graphically. However, when Kotaku contacted Gearbox president Randy Pitchford on the matter he had this to say.

“No, Borderlands is not cel-shaded — it’s a gritty and serious world after all,” Pitchford told Kotaku via email. “But since the game was first unveiled we have made big advancements with the art direction and the technology to support the art and have produced some pretty impressive, even shocking results.”

He also confirmed that the game’s official website will “soon” be updated with new content showing off some of the ” big advancements with the art direction and the technology” he was taking about.

“Finally, there’s always E3 in a few months where attendees can see the game live,” said Pitchford. “I know some folks have figured out that we’ve done something big to Borderlands even if no one is quite sure what we’ve done yet and I know I’m still being a bit cryptic on that.”