Rockstar will start selling Red Dead Redemption 2's online mode as a standalone game for $5 starting December 1.
“For the first time, new players who do not already own Red Dead Redemption 2 can experience everything Red Dead Online has to offer, including access to all future content updates,” Rockstar announced on the game’s website today. Red Dead Online will be available to buy separately on all of the platforms where Red Dead Redemption 2 is currently sold, but it’s $5 price is only introductory, expiring on February 15, 2021.
Despite being sold separately from the main game, Red Dead Online will still be huge, with an install size that clocks in at 123GB. The game will include the five existing specialist roles, the story-based “A Land of Opportunities” coop missions, Showdown competitive modes, Free Roam Missions, and online games of poker. Rockstar also announced today that the Bounty Hunter Role is getting expanded and a new 100 Rank Outlaw pass is on the way.
Despite selling well overall, Red Dead Redemption 2's online mode hasn’t yet seen nearly the success Grand Theft Auto V’s has achieved, likely due in part to ongoing bugs, balance issues, and content droughts. Released back in 2014, GTA Online is also getting a standalone release some time next year for free on next-gen consoles.
DISCUSSION
Is the $5 price tag because there are a lot of microtransactions? This is actually pretty tempting as a PC player that doesn’t care about the campaign anymore, but I’m assuming there’s a catch here.