Wild West Online, that MMO that people thought was going to be Red Dead Redemption 2 after a screenshot surfaced, is skipping Kickstarter and will launch this year on PC. The buzz around WWO's reveal was enough to nudge the initial investors into fully funding the project. Fair play.

The extra backing means the game can now launch with all the stretch goals it was hoping to reach with crowd funding: female characters, extra role-playing stuff like card games, and localisation.

612 Games confirmed to us that the leak wasn't actually a marketing stunt (though the team did jump on the opportunity it presented). Following all the commotion around the screenshot 612 got 'thousands of emails' and the site received over 200,000 visits.

The Wild West Online website has been updated to include more details on the game, including the many paths your character can pursue. Players could choose to be a prospector, outlaw, deputy, or join a bandit clan. Presumably some people will just be regular folks running convenience stores.

WWO will launch 'with a large map featuring wilderness, settler encampments, lone farms, small settlements, large towns, train stations, gang hideouts, landmarks – and bizarre uncharted places of an "unknown nature" that curious explorers will be drawn to seek out.'

There are also three new combat screenshots to have a gander at.