There have been numerous rumors that a Red Dead Redemption 2 is on the way, but this supposedly leaked world map from the game is the most convincing piece of evidence yet.

The map appeared on video game forum NeoGAF briefly before being taken down. However, the post lasted just long enough for the rest of the Internet to take a peek. Now, Techradar reports that the map is indeed legitimate, showing a fairly recent version of the game world map players will be exploring in Red Dead Redemption 2.

In addition to verifying the authenticity of the map, Techradar's source also had more to say about when the game takes place. It appears Red Dead Redemption 2 will be a prequel to the previous game, with the game world itself being located east of the first game's environment.

Considering the original Red Dead Redemption's storyline revolved around the death of the Wild West, it seems natural for a prequel to take place during an earlier time period when outlaws still roamed free. The old map and new map even overlap at their eastern-most point in the Tall Trees/Great Plains area, though the leaked map notably doesn't feature a railroad like its predecessor. That's yet another sign Red Dead Redemption 2 will be a prequel, though it's unclear who players will play as in this new story.

One departure from the first game will be the addition of islands to the game world. Protagonist John Marston couldn't swim in the original Red Dead Redemption, so it looks like the ability to do so could be a new element in Red Dead Redemption 2. Various caravan camps are also scattered around the map, perhaps another indication that this version of the west is less settled than what we saw in the first game.

Publisher Take-Two has previously said to expect big things from E3 this year, so it seems natural to assume that Red Dead Redemption 2 will officially make its debut then. We'll deliver more news as we hear it. In the meantime, we can only hope that the first Red Dead Redemption soon becomes backwards compatible on Xbox One.