Red Dead Online gets first content update and roadmap

The start of something new.

Red Dead Online has been a widely anticipated mode ever since the success of Grand Theft Auto V. The idea of roaming the wild west with a plethora of lucrative opportunities, extensive customization, and more made Rockstar fans giddy especially because Red Dead Redemption’s multiplayer was already very beloved and this would be an evolution of it.

When Red Dead Online hit in November, many felt it lacked the necessary content to match the likes of Grand Theft Auto Online even in its earliest of days. While it has a great foundation, the handful of missions and deathmatches aren’t enough to keep some players engaged for long periods of time.

Of course, Rockstar has been adamant about labeling Red Dead Online as a beta and that it’ll continue to be updated over time. Today, Rockstar has released the first content update with Gun Rush. Gun Rush is a battle royale-esque mode with 32 players in a rapidly shrinking zone where you’ll be able to play with a team or by yourself and attempt to gather weapons and ammo.

Rockstar also gave a small roadmap to let players know where they’ll be taking the mode in the coming months with more activities, features, clothing options, and more. You can take a look at what the team has planned below.

  • Daily Challenges: Tackle new challenges each day covering every aspect of the game, from sharpshooting to evading the law.
  • Law and Bounty Upgrades: Some changes are coming to the way the Law and Bounty systems work in Red Dead Online to reduce the enticements for griefing. Soon, players will get a bounty for committing crimes and will be incentivized to pay them off within an allotted time. Wait too long and bounty hunters from each of the states will track the player forcing them to either pay up or escape.
  • Parley Changes: We’re making the Parley system easier to trigger so that you can avoid aggressive players more quickly. In addition, it will be easier to trigger Feuds, Posse Feuds and Leader Feuds to take on attacking players in structured competition.
  • Proximity-Based Player Blips: Player location blips will soon appear only over short distances, reducing the range at which you are visible to others, decreasing the likelihood of being targeted by another player across large areas. Down the line, we’re also looking to introduce the ability to identify players who grief and kill indiscriminately with a progressively darkening blip that becomes more visible and at a longer range, so everyone in a session can identify potentially dangerous opponents at a glance and from a safe distance.

More to Come

We are working on lots of new content that we will be releasing this year. Just a few of the updates in the works are:

  • All-new missions to build on your Story in A Land Of Opportunities – from previously established characters like Horley and Jessica LeClerk, and some new ones as well.
  • A range of Dynamic Events throughout the world
  • Lots of new competitive modes including new Showdown Modes and Races
  • Plus new weapons and clothing, and lots more that we’re not quite ready to announce just yet…

Red Dead Online is out now and free for Red Dead Redemption 2 owners on Xbox One and PS4.