Red Dead Redemption 2, One Year Later

Red Dead Redemption 2 launched a year ago today, on October 26 2018. It’s been a busy year for the game and developer Rockstar. The company has faced criticisms over crunch, the main game eventually released to great reviews, Red Dead Online launched to less great reviews, then got updated more and more, fans walked around with soup and a country-trap hybrid hit song used the game in a music video.

Here’s (almost) everything that has happened in the last year since RDR2 released.

• In the weeks before Red Dead Redemption 2’s release, Rockstar’s culture of crunch is criticised. An interview with the co-founder of Rockstar Games, Dan Houser, causes outrage after a comment implies that he and his staff are working over 100 hours a week. He later says that this was just a small group of writers and that Rockstar didn’t force anyone else to work that many hours.

• Kotaku‘s Jason Schreier releases a report days before the game’s release that reveals the crunch problems at Rockstar weren’t relegated to only a small group of writers, as Dan Houser claimed. Creating RDR2 involved many individuals and studios spread across the world, with each studio and team having their own experiences with crunch.

• On October 26, 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 is released for PS4 and Xbox One. Reviews are mostly positive, with many critics praising the game’s visuals and storytelling, including Kotaku. The game grosses $US725 million ($1.06 billion) in its first weekend of sales, making it the biggest opening weekend in entertainment history.

• As players explore the world, they discover that the most dangerous animals in the game are possibly the deer and elk. Players share videos of these creatures attacking them for no reason. Other players avoid the deer and instead focus on growing their beards as large as possible. They are glorious looking.

• Players exploring the massive world of Red Dead Redemption 2 also begin to find creepy, odd and interesting easter eggs and secrets. Some of their discoveries include ghosts in the swamp, UFOs, vampires, time travel and a ghost train. These secrets lead to the formation of a subcommunity of Red Dead players who hunt for clues to find even more hidden secrets and mysteries.

• On November 27, Rockstar launches the beta for Red Dead Online. The release is staggered, with base game ultimate edition owners getting access first. Eventually, on November 30, all players who own the game are given access to Red Dead Online. The initial response is that the game feels empty but is a solid foundation.

• Almost immediately after the release of Red Dead Online, players begin to complain about the game’s economy. Many find the mission and activity payouts too low and the in-game prices on items too high. Players say it feels like the game is asking them to grind for hours to get simple things like weapon upgrades or boots.

• The first few weeks and months of Red Dead Online are mostly filled with small updates and tweaks to the game’s economy and world. Some of these tweaks help make the game less grind-y, but players still find the world too empty.

• Red Dead Online begins to suffer from griefing and trolling. Players are angry that the game seems to do very little to stop players from griefing. Others point towards strange design choices, like showing all players on the map at all times, that make trolling easy.

• Rockstar starts 2019 off with a roadmap, outlining how they will improve Red Dead Online‘s biggest problems and shortcomings. They promise new missions and events while also teasing new features that will help make trolling and griefing harder.

• In the middle of January, Rockstar is sued by the Pinkertons. This old private security and investigation company featured in Red Dead’s single-player campaign is still around, and they aren’t happy about Rockstar using their company name and agents in the main game.

• After weeks of teasing, Rockstar releases the biggest update to Red Dead Online yet, adding a new bounty system, new clothes and changing how player blips work. These changes are fine, but further tweaks to the game’s economy leave players upset. They feel Rockstar is making it harder and harder to earn cash in the game.

• Some players begin to protest Rockstar’s update by cloning cougars using a duplication bug. They then sell these duped cougars and earn money quickly. This is patched by Rockstar soon after it is discovered.

• This big update also rubs some players the wrong way after they notice what they believe to be graphical downgrades in the game. Players point towards shadows missing and other small details becoming less noticeable or losing some quality. These supposed downgrades are not confirmed by Rockstar.

• While it was nominated in multiple categories at the DICE Awards in February, Red Dead Redemption 2 would only win one award that night for “Outstanding Technical Achievement.“ Red Dead Redemption 2 also received multiple nominations but won none at the 2019 BAFTA awards, losing out against the popular God Of War in many categories. Red Dead does win “Best Narrative” and a few other awards at the Game Awards 2018.

• Crafty players find different ways to break out of bounds and explore parts of the map they shouldn’t have access to. Some players even use a canoe and some tricks to swim through boundaries and explore Cuba.

• Red Dead Redemption 2 becomes wrapped up in a massive viral moment. The game is used in the video for the incredibly popular country-trap hybrid hit, “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X. According to Kotaku’s Gita Jackson, this song is a banger. I agree.

• The Pinkerton Detective Agency drops its lawsuit against Rockstar in April.

• Over the course of March and April, Rockstar adds new PvP modes to Red Dead Online. These new modes are a mix of good, bad and boring. While some players are happy to have new content, many wish Red Dead Online would lean more into its Western setting and feature more story and co-op missions.

• A month later, Rockstar releases a major update for Red Dead Online. This update adds poker into the game, something fans have wanted since release and it also adds new missions, a new weapon, and ponchos. Many see this update as a good step in the right direction for RDO. However, some players are unable to play poker because of where they live and various gambling laws.

• Later in May, players find in Red Dead Online giant piles of burned horse corpses. The disturbing piles of dead horses were the result of a duplication bug and Rockstar quickly patched the game to fix the bug. 

• A former designer at Rockstar shares his story of how a former executive at the company groped him in 2014 during a party. Shortly after this incident, the designer left Rockstar Games and no longer works in the game industry.

• In June, Rockstar adds a new PVP mode into Red Dead Online. This mode mixes fast-paced horse riding with teamwork. It feels like a big improvement over some of the previously added PVP modes.

• Players keep breaking out of Rockstar’s massive open world. This time players discover wild and gorgeous lands beyond the intended playspace.

• Someone finds a really cute mountain lion in Red Dead Online. It is hiding in a cave and it looks so adorable. It later kills the player who found it.

• Facing criticism of various labour issues, Rockstar converts its testers into full-time employees. Previously it had been reported by Kotaku that these testers were contractors and many lived in fear, hoping their contracts would be extended again. Though this was never a guarantee. Many also reported working overtime hours for a full year.

• In September, Rockstar releases the biggest update yet for Red Dead Online. This update adds a huge list of new content, the most exciting additions include new career paths that players can choose. These careers have their own levels and challenges. Rockstar also adds a Fortnite-like Battlepass system into the game. Some players complain that the price to play these careers is too high, but Rockstar does include ways to access the content for free depending on various factors.

• Rockstar confirms, during an interview with VG 24/7, that the company they have no plans to create any singleplayer DLC for Red Dead Redemption 2. Many fans are disappointed by the news.

• In October, Rockstar begins adding new temporary missions in Red Dead Online on a weekly schedule. These new legendary bounty hunter missions are a ton of fun and many fans are happy to have new PVE and story content for RDO.

• A large group of dedicated Red Dead Online fans decides to do something very strange in late September. The group gathers and walks across the whole map carrying bowls of soup. The event is hilarious, though many fail to make it to the end due to obstacles like trains and bandits.

• Close to a year after releasing Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4 and Xbox One, Rockstar Games announces that the game is coming to PC. It will be available first in November on Rockstar’s new game launcher as well as the Epic Game Store. In December the game will be available on Steam. The PC version will also be available on Google Stadia as a launch title. The PC port of RDR2 will include new content, such as new weapons and bounty hunter missions.

One year later and Red Dead Redemption 2 is clearly not Rockstar’s main focus anymore. Instead, Red Dead Online is going to receive future updates and new content. But Red Dead Redemption 2‘s PC launch will most likely bring about new discoveries as players data mine the game more effectively. It will also receive wild and useful mods, just like GTA V on PC.