Long before Bethesda officially announced Rage 2 right before E3 2018, Walmart Canada had leaked the game's existence alongside a plenty of titles like Gears of War 5, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Just Cause 4, and more. While Bethesda's Vice President Pete Hines expressed his disappointment in the whole situation shortly after the leak, id Software studio director Tim Willits thinks it was a blessing.
In an interview with GamesIndustry, Willits said that the accidental leak was a good thing for Bethesda, id Software, and Avalanche Studios as it created a healthy and much needed conversation around Rage 2 that may have been swallowed up by other games otherwise. “It turned out so well that a number of journalists were like, ‘You guys planned that right?'” Willits said. “No, we didn’t plan it.”
As for why Rage 2 was always planned to be announced before the show, Willits referred to "a 55,000-ton gorilla we have to compete with" while pointing to a poster of another post-apocalyptic game getting a big push at E3 2018 - Fallout 76. Rage 2 is currently being co-developed at Avalanche Studios, the creators of the Just Cause and Mad Max series and the original creators, id Software.
In the year 2185, humanity’s numbers are dwindling. Ruthless and bloodthirsty gangs roam the open roads and the tyrannical Authority seek to rule who remains with an iron fist. You are Walker, the last Ranger of the wasteland. Robbed of your home and left for dead, you’ll tear across an unforgiving wasteland battling bloodthirsty gangs to find the tools and tech needed to take the fight to The Authority and crush their oppressive rule once and for all!
Rage 2 will be released next year on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.