Rockstar Games has allowed a terminally ill gamer to enjoy Red Dead Redemption 2 a month before launch, after his father contacted the studio. 



He feared his son, a massive Red Dead fan named Jurian, might not live to play the sequel to his favourite game, something Jurian also realised. 



A young gamer named Wes was able to enjoy Fallout 76 early after his family contacted Bethesda under similar circumstances, and the studio drove four hours to give him a signed Power Armour Edition of the game and a full days play time. 

Nintendo also helped out a terminally ill man, Chris Taylor, who dreamt of playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.  The company granted his wish and let him and his friends enjoy the brawler way before release, but sadly he died just days later. 



This story was inspiration for Jurian and his father, who saw the news and hoped Rockstar would do the same - and after a week or so, that's exactly what the studio did.  Here's what a Dutch report [translated by Rockstar Intel] revealed about the brilliant gesture:



"Jurian approached us via our Facebook page.  He's suffering of neurofibromatosis type 2, a hereditary disease that affects around 400 people in the Netherlands.  His fight is over, and he's now in the last phase of his life.  Being a large fan of Red Dead Redemption 2, he really wanted to get to see and play the game, which resulted in his father, Harm, contacting Rockstar. 

Credit: Gamersnet

"Sadly, I am in the last weeks of my life.  My treatment is over.  Since 2004 I have been fighting a rare, chronic disease named neurofibromatosis type 2, which causes many "benign" tumors to grow in my body.  I've survived for long, but I am done now," Jurian told the publisher. 



"Since I was waiting with excitement for Red Dead Redemption 2, my father decided to contact the publisher, asking if they had a copy of the game preliminarily as exception.  Rockstar Netherlands was willing to give it but didn't have the clearance, so they contacted the headquarters who set me up with something nice very quickly.  By the end of the week two employees from Rockstar Netherlands visited me, who gave me a private demonstration of the game.  After an afternoon of playing they sadly took the game back with them. 



"Seeing as I read an article a short while ago about a similar case with Nintendo, I thought I'd share, seeing as Rockstar did me a favor as well." 

Credit: Rockstar Games

Our thoughts go out to Julian and his family, and our respect goes to Rockstar and every other studio or publisher that makes gamer's dreams to come true at tragic times.