Rage 2 is now about a month and a half from its release on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A co-production between id Software and Avalanche, this sequel promises to fully deliver on the open world promise of the first installment.

While the gameplay has been a highlight so far in the preview coverage, in an interview published on the latest PlayStation Official Magazine (April 2019, issue 160) the developers at Avalanche revealed to have been working to deliver a strong story as well, with Bethesda and id pushing for it.

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Loke Wallmo (Senior Narrative Designer): I have to say Bethesda and Id have been pushing for the story from the very beginning as well. They knew that they wanted a strong story component in the game, and pushed for that from the beginning. Odd Ahlgren (Narrative Director): Most people you meet, most stuff that you see, even enemies that you never really talk to, they have a backstory and they have a reason to be there, and they have a reason to behave in the outrageous way that they do. Most of these things are explained if you look close enough. Loke Wallmo: Yeah, we’ve sort of spread it out all over the place so it’s kind of like more of a sandbox. You’re going to a certain place and you find something there and it has a context and story. Something that I think Rage put a lot of focus on that we’ve tried to maintain is the crazy characters that show up and have their own motivations for doing things and asking things of you. That’s something that we want to spread out through the world a little bit as well. There’s a strong part of that in the main story of the game, in the fight against The Authority. But that also echoes out throughout the rest of the world as well.

In related Rage 2 news, the game was featured at Bethesda's PAX East 2019 Game Days panels. You can check the recording below, featuring brand new gameplay footage and commentary from the developers.

Rage 2 is out on May 14th globally.