When I mentioned I was writing this piece, one of my colleages politely asked why the heck we were covering Red Dead Redemption 2 at all. “Does it have a major online component that I’ve missed?” he wondered aloud.
Why yes, yes it does! In fact, Rockstar just confirmed the multiplayer that it had previously teased. It’s even got a special name: Red Dead Online. If you’re familiar with the Grand Theft Auto series and GTAO, you’ll immediately grok the pattern.
“Red Dead Online is an evolution of the classic multiplayer experience in the original Red Dead Redemption, blending narrative with competitive and cooperative gameplay in fun new ways. Using the gameplay of the upcoming Red Dead Redemption 2 as a foundation, Red Dead Online will be ready to be explored alone or with friends, and will also feature constant updates and adjustments to grow and evolve this experience for all players.”
Launch is currently planned for November 2018 “initially as a public beta.” And no, you won’t have to buy anything but the PS4 or Xbox One version of RDR2 (those launch October 26th) to get in. PC is still not mentioned, though it’s been long-rumored. Gamers will recall that the title was first announced in October of 2016 with a fall 2017 launch planned. But by May of last year, Rockstar pushed that estimate off into 2018, barely making its own “summer” deadline to pick spring 2018 for the console launch. Then in February, it delayed until October. Looks like that date is sticking!
Red Dead Online
First details: https://t.co/s8NfHClZnV pic.twitter.com/Mbjim30E1v
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 19, 2018
