Red Dead Redemption 2‘s sprawling story has taken the gaming community by storm, but Rockstar Games wanted to take a little bit more time for the game’s multiplayer-focused Red Dead Online mode. Earlier today, the prestigious publisher confirmed that the Online Beta for Red Dead Online will beginning rolling out this week.
Owners of Red Dead Redemption 2’s Ultimate Edition will get the first crack at the Online Beta, and more players will be added to the population all week:
Red Dead Redemption 2 – Online Beta Schedule
- Tuesday, November 27: All Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition owners.
- Wednesday, November 28: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26th.
- Thursday, November 29: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 between October 26th to October 29th.
- Friday, November 30: All players who own Red Dead Redemption 2.
Over on their official website, a Rockstar spokesman has detailed what players can expect from Red Dead Online in its earliest form:
The world of Red Dead Online will be a continually expanding experience. There will also be some additions and updates throughout the Beta period. Starting this week, you can ride with friends in a Posse, set up your Camp, embark on cooperative story-based missions or go head-to-head in competitive series, find strangers throughout the world to help (or hurt), tackle spontaneous Free Roam challenges, go hunting, fishing, bond with your horse, explore with friends or on your own (but look out for ambushes), and much more.
All the while, you’ll accumulate XP through your explorations and encounters that counts towards your rank and provides added bonuses. Unlock items and improve your attributes while you progress. You can also take on Award challenges throughout your open-world experiences to earn Awards in 12 categories like combat, hunting, sharpshooter and survivalist.
Red Dead Online begins with creating your character. Detail your appearance and attributes before you set out on your journey from Sisika Penitentiary where you’ll acquire a horse, set up a Camp, hunt down a treasure, equip your first Ability Card and meet some fateful characters with a larger story to tell; one that involves chasing truth, revenge, and honor.
After creating a character, players will be able to earn (or lose) Honor through two types of missions:
Free Roam Missions: Head over to the Stranger icons throughout the map alone or with your Posse to embark on Free Roam Missions. You’ll see some familiar faces along the way, and these missions can vary based on how noble or nefarious you are – for example, an honorable gunslinger may be asked to help escort a convoy, defending it from attacking gangs or even other players’ Posses, whereas a dishonorable outlaw may be asked to help spring a felon from the law.
A Land of Opportunities: Honor also plays into this deeper cooperative strand for two to four players that we will continually build upon. In A Land of Opportunities, you’ll be faced with a multi-part series of missions, with some parts changing as your honor changes on a larger journey to seek truth and justice, or revenge.
But if you’d rather mix it up with rival gangs, Red Dead Online will also include five different modes in the Showdown Series:
Shootout & Team Shootout: Classic gunfight modes with unlimited lives. Compete to rack up the most kills before the timer runs out. Sudden death will trigger in the event of a tie: whoever gets the first kill wins.
Make It Count: A true test of resourcefulness in two game modes: use nothing but a bow and a handful of arrows or throwing knives to be the last one standing. With a gradually shrinking player area, there’s nowhere to run.
Most Wanted: A tactical race to the top. Every kill pushes you up the scoreboard, but watch out: the closer to the top you are, the more points everyone else gets for killing you.
Hostile Territory: Work in teams to control the land. Capture a territory to start racking up points: the team with most points wins – or you can win outright by capturing every territory.
Name Your Weapon: Demonstrate your personal specialty in this free-for-all or team based match: the trickier the weapon you use to land the killing blow, the more points you get.
Rockstar is planning to add a wide variety of new features to Red Dead Online over the coming weeks and months, and players will be able to keep track of all the updates at RedDeadOnline.com.
