The multiplayer component to Rockstar’s new Western will be out this week, the developer said today, promising a beta for Red Dead Online that will launch on a staggered schedule for Red Dead Redemption 2 owners starting tomorrow.
Here’s a quick breakdown for when you’ll be able to play Red Dead Online:
Tuesday, November 27 - Anyone with the Ultimate Edition of Red Dead Redemption 2.
Wednesday, November 28 - Anyone who played Red Dead 2 on launch day (October 26).
Thursday, November 29 - Anyone who played Red Dead 2 on launch weekend (October 26-29)
Friday, November 30 - Anyone else who owns the game.
We still don’t know much about how Red Dead Online will work, but The Verge got a smattering of details from Rockstar that are worth sharing:
With the gameplay of Red Dead Redemption 2 as its foundation, Red Dead Online transforms the vast and deeply detailed landscapes, cities, towns, and habitats of Red Dead Redemption 2 into a new, living online world ready to be shared by multiple players. Create and customize your character, tailor your abilities to suit your play style, and head out into a new frontier full of things to experience.
Explore this huge world solo or with friends. Form or join a posse to ride with up to seven players; gather around the fire at your camp; head out hunting or fishing; visit bustling towns; battle enemy gangs and attack their hideouts; hunt for treasure; take on missions and interact with familiar characters from across the five states; or fight against other outlaws in both spontaneous skirmishes and pitched set-piece battles; compete with other players or whole posses in open world challenges and much more.
Rockstar is calling this a beta that will eventually morph into a full release, so expect bugs, strangeness, and lots of changes—not unlike GTA Online when that first launched in 2013. Good luck to all of you intrepid aspiring gang leaders, and may you fare better than Dutch did.