Red Dead Online’s beta is getting a big patch today – and even more this summer. First, the update rolling out today adds new co-op missions for honorable and dishonorable players, competitive fishing challenges (what), and the new Overrun showdown mode, and multiplayer poker challenges in multiple cities. Yes, a game within a game! The most important bit is the long-awaited playing styles and hostility system changes that will govern PvP and ideally discourage griefing.
“The Offensive playing style is set as the default and is how most players traditionally interact in Free Roam – free to engage in hostile contact with other players if you are prepared to accept the potential consequences,” Rockstar explains. “The Defensive play style is for those players who would rather explore the world in Free Roam than engage in conflict with others – and it’s designed to let other players know that you don’t want to tangle with them, as well as minimize opportunities for griefing. At the same time, Defensive players will not be alerted to PvP Free Roam missions and can not be pulled into them while in Defensive mode, allowing them to go about their business as freely as possible.”
Mess with a player in Defensive, or attack other folks from Defensive, and the hostility system will make your life hell and make you easy pickings for other players.
Rockstar also says that “this summer,” more roles are en route to the game.
“Starting this summer, players will be able to take on the first three of a series of new roles: track down wanted criminals as a bounty hunter; search the world for treasure, and other exotic items to sell as a collector; or build a business at camp as a trader and more. Each new role will come with a range of unique gameplay along with a host of new outfits, weapons and other rewards to earn. Players will have the option to focus on a specific role to advance quickly and unlock each role’s unique attributes, or simultaneously progress across multiple roles as you play naturally to create your own unique character and path through the frontier.”
Meanwhile, Rockstar owner Take-Two posted a hefty annual revenue increase of 17%. According to the investor call, Red Dead Redemption 2 has shipped 25 million units to date. There was no PC announcement, though it looks as if Red Dead Online will abandon beta for the wilds of launch at some point in June, which seems to track with the summer update being teased.
