Red Dead Redemption 2 launched to an overwhelmingly positive reception in 2017, and for many, it’s the best work Rockstar Games has ever done. It followed a similar operating model to 2013’s GTA 5, with Rockstar producing a single-player campaign and an online multiplayer that occupied the same universe but was very much ‘its own thing’.
Sadly, Rockstar’s Red Dead Online has never risen to the levels of grandeur that GTA Online has achieved, and many blame Rockstar Games for outright refusing to introduce any meaningful content to the once-popular multiplayer platform. Recently, Red Dead Redemption 2 had its first major update in a very long time, but there’s still nothing new or valuable being introduced to the game’s ecosystem.
The Untapped Potential
With Grand Theft Auto 6 firmly on the horizon and fixed in the sights of millions of gamers the world over, it comes as no surprise that Rockstar Games has put Red Dead Redemption 2 on a back burner. For more than a year and a half, RDR2 remained unchanged, with no major updates hitting the ecosystem – even bugs and issues with the game were left to fester.
Recently, update 1.32 was released, which as per the patch notes addressed a slew of issues and tweaked some settings. The update added HDR10+ support – but that’s the biggest thing to come of 1.32. It was in September 2022 that update 1.31 was released, bringing with it five or six times the number of changes, tweaks, and most importantly, additional content and features than update 1.32.
In social circles, fans of the franchise are still crying out for Rockstar Games to tap into the fountain of potential pouring from the heart of Red Dead Redemption 2, but it’s an effort akin to screaming into the void.
Some comments from Reddit reflect the community’s sentiments:
- ‘Please, I just (want) more horses and a hunting wagon. How possibly hard could it be to just give Arthur all the online stuff? I’ll even pay for it as a DLC stuff pack if that’ll temp them.’ – FatherDotComical
- ‘R* can manage to add a shitty “heist” or awful new storyline to GTAO every couple of months but anything more than a meaningless update to get everyone’s hopes up is too much for RDO standards.’ – oliver_on_reddit
- ‘It blows my mind that they won’t just do a 60fps patch to Series X and PS5 and reap the rewards of increased player count. Like, imagine the people that would play Online if it ran better and they made more Battle Pass things. People would be more likely to put some money back into the game. For a company that wants money like Rockstar, why wouldn’t they get it anywhere they could?’ – Snoddy2Hotty91
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a phenomenal game by all accounts, but it has been wholeheartedly abandoned by Rockstar Games. It’s tough to say anything about the single-player mode, as GTA 5 never had any major updates or post-launch DLC made available, but it’s bizarre that the multiplayer offering was so readily cast into the wind.
Are you still playing Red Dead Online?
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