Red Dead Rockstar Games Announces Red Dead Online Beta

By: Bryce L. Jackson

Rockstar Games released information to what the online multiplayer component of Red Dead Redemption 2 will consist of. After the huge success of GTA V Online, it was all but certain that Read Dead would get the same treatment.

Rockstar say that a beta of Red Dead Online will begin in November, a month after the release of Read Dead Redemption 2 to allow players to complete the single player mode.

“There are a few reasons for this. The first is that even though Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online share the same gameplay mechanics and geography, we see them essentially as separate products that will grow and evolve independently of each other.

We love story-based, single-player games and they are the foundation of everything we do. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an absolutely massive story-based game that we hope people will be lost in for a long time and we want people to experience everything that world has to offer before we build on that with the Online experience. Not to mention, playing through the story and getting to know the controls and mechanics of the game is the best way to get ready for playing inside the world of Red Dead Online.

Also, as we have learned from experience when launching Online games at this scale, there are bound to be a few issues and we want to ensure that we have time to gradually roll out the game and make the experience as smooth as we possibly can for everyone. We believe this way of rolling out will give people the best overall experiences with both single player and multiplayer.”

— Imran Sarwar, Director of Design at Rockstar North in interview with IGN

As stated, the decision to release the online multiplayer as a beta before making it a wide release is a wise decision given the history that Rockstar had with the rough release of GTA Online. That game’s online mode was hectic and wrought with toxic gameplay elements and game-breaking bugs before it became the money making juggernaut it is today.

Update: Rockstar Games also released single player gameplay to major outlets to accompany this news in the wind up towards the October release.