„First in almost four years.” Red Dead Redemption devs speak out after update, sparking player theories
Something has changed in terms of Red Dead Online - or at least that's what players are hoping for after the first trailer for a new update in years.
Fans of Red Dead Online are positively surprised by the new update, also because of the unexpected trailer for Strange Tales of the West.
Rockstar barely paid attention (their own and the players') to the online module of Red Dead Redemption 2. To the extent that fans have long "buried" the game and repeatedly cursed the waste of RDO's potential by Rockstar, who focused almost entirely on the development of the Grand Theft Auto series.
Basically, the "development" of Red Dead Online boiled down to "bonuses" for acquired resources (virtual currency, etc.) and telegraph missions—supposedly new content, but for years almost exclusively repeating old additions.
Undead trailer heralds the return of RDO?
In theory, the new update also fits into this trend. The only difference is that, along with Strange Tales of the West, a new character (known from the RDR 2 campaign) and some "mysterious" undead phenomena were supposed to be added to RDO. Nevertheless, despite occasional enthusiasm, some fans remained skeptical and awaited the "next telegram missions" without much joy.
However, even those players were surprised when Rockstar released the trailer for Red Dead Online: Stranges Tales of the West - the first RDO trailer in nearly 4 years. Apparently, the developer treats this update as something more than just another drip for a "dead" game.
A glance at the comments under the video and on social media leaves no doubt about the fans' reaction. There are still voices saying that "it's just telegraph missions" - but most players indicate that even a half-minute trailer is much more than Rockstar has done for RDO for nearly 4 years. The last major update with its own trailer was released on July 7, 2021.
Soon after, just like desperate GTA fans, people started coming up with theories about what Rockstar's sudden involvement could mean. Some internet users are betting on Red Dead Redemption 2 coming to the 9th generation consoles, which would mean RDO's debut on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Other players point to the undead theme of the update and delude themselves that it might be a "teaser" (how else...) for the continuation of the acclaimed expansion to the first game. Last year, Red Dead Redemption hit PCs along with this expansion, which in theory could encourage the developer to release a similar DLC for the sequel, although this is probably too far-fetched speculation.
More conservative fans hope for a return to active game development or a final, big update to bid farewell to RDO. This says a lot about the current mood of the fans of this title.
