Red Dead Redemption 2 fans have been patiently waiting for the release of the games online mode, Red Dead Online and it looks as though that wait is finally over.
Originally Rockstar promised that Red Dead Online would arrive in November, but the developer has remained pretty much silent on the matter since launch.
The only official acknowledgement has come from Take-Two Interactive's Strauss Zelnick – who stated during the company's Q3 earnings call earlier this November – that Red Dead 2 Online will launch in public beta "towards the end of the month."
With only a few days left to go until the end of November, you would imagine that Red Dead 2 Online would launch at some stage in the next few days.
But the complete silence on Rockstar's part has created something of an atmosphere that the online mode could be delayed.
Thankfully, that doesn't appear to be the case, because players have spotted something very interesting over the weekend which suggests not only that Red Dead Redemption 2 Multiplayer is live, although, not for everyone for the time being.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Multiplayer IS LIVE: Red Dead Online release PS4, Xbox beta (Pic: DS)
Someone's been played Red Dead 2 Online … (Pic: Dualshockers)
"Red Dead Redemption 2's Red Dead Online-specific achievements are currently being popped by a very small percentage of players," explains comicbook.com
"Achievements, such as "Breakout," which are dished out for completing the intro of Red Dead Online, have previously sat at 0 percent since the game's launch.
"But now said achievements are at 0.01% percent, which doesn't just confirm that people are playing the beta live, but also perhaps eludes to the fact that Rockstar Games is getting ready to roll the sucker out."
It's more than likely that this 0.01% of players consists of developers at Rockstar or potentially a few chosen testers or media selected to try out Red Dead 2 Online before it's rolled out to the wider public.
Either way, it's positive news. No one expected Red Dead 2 Online to be the finished product, even Rockstar are calling it a beta. But it certainly seems as though the game mode is in a fit enough state that it's ready to be unleashed on players imminently.
When it does launch we also have a fairly decent idea of what it could entail, largely due to a series of leaks in the past few weeks.
First off, Rockstar Intel last week appeared to find a new image which gave some clues as to the games opening mission.
"This time, instead of references – we found an image that belongs to the Intro Sequence of Red Dead Online." writes Ben Walker, head editor for RockstarIntel.
You can take a look at the image on this link, if you want to see it for yourself. But to give you an idea of what the image contains, here's a bit more info:
The image is titled "Intro" and appears to come from the opening of Red Dead Online.
From what we already know, the first mission from Red Dead 2 Online awards a trophy called "Breakout" when completed.
This first image also shows some characters in the back of a jail wagon. So we would suspect that your online character 'breaks out' of this wagon as the story begins.
The majority of discoveries have often come from Rockstar Intel, who have previously leaked information concerning the use of Properties, Adversary Modes, a "Seamless PvE" mode and Vehicles.
They've also found references that hint at the possibility of races, deathmatches, duelling, and much more.
Fireboyd78 (Via RockstarIntel) is credited with finding a number of parameters in the past few days which specifically mention and reference "MULTIPLAYER".
"The most interesting of these are Respawn, Inform Law, Duel, Parley, Feud and Leader Feud," writes RockstarIntel. "Predator Ability is also something to take note of.
The site goes on to suggest that these could be options for players upon getting killed by another player, in a similar fashion to Grand Theft Auto 5's 1 on 1 deathmatch.
Rockstar Intel also shared a leak of its own, claiming that they've found the current list of missions types coming to Red Dead Online. Although they're keen to stress this is anything but final.
The list of mission types includes: 'Mission', 'Deathmatch' and 'Race'.
“Red Dead Online blends narrative with competitive and cooperative gameplay in fun new ways”
All the above is fairly unofficial. But officially, heres how Rockstar describes Red Dead Redemption 2 Online:
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.
Speaking to IGN before Red Dead's release, Josh Needleman, Senior Producer at Rockstar San Diego, noted how the online mode for the game had learned a lot from GTA Online and would be using the previous title as a jumping off point for the new Western take on the multiplayer:
“One of the biggest differences between GTA and Red Dead universes is that youre often speeding through or flying over a GTA world, whereas in Red Dead Redemption the change of pace elevates the intimacy of the overall experience.
(Pic: Rockstar)
“Like the single-player games story of Arthur Morgan, we want people to settle into their online characters and feel like every activity makes sense for the character, the setting and the time. This should feel intimate and personal while still feeling fun and action-packed from moment to moment.
“Weve tried to take the best elements and best content packs from Grand Theft Auto Online and use them for templates for what we are making here. We feel Grand Theft Auto Online really only found its feet creatively with Heists.
“That pack, along with After Hours, The Doomsday Heist, Gun Running and a few others represent the best of Grand Theft Auto Online, and provided the template for what we wanted to use here, (not in terms of content, obviously, but how they combined narrative, gameplay, modes and other content into a cohesive thematic whole) alongside all of the elements we liked from the old Red Dead Redemption multiplayer.”
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