Red Dead Online

Red Dead Online is an online multiplayer action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games as the online component of Red Dead Redemption 2. After several months in beta, it was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in May 2019,[a] and for Microsoft Windows and Stadia in November 2019. A standalone client for the game was released in December 2020. In Red Dead Online, players control a silent protagonist who is freed from prison after being framed for murder, and tasked with taking revenge in exchange for proving their innocence. Set in 1898, one year before the events of Red Dead Redemption 2, the game comprises story missions where up to four players can complete tasks to advance the narrative, as well as various side missions and events.

Like the single-player game, Red Dead Online is presented through both first and third-person perspectives, and the player may freely roam in its interactive open world. Gameplay elements include shootouts, hunting, horseback riding, interacting with non-player characters, and maintaining the character's honor rating through moral choices and deeds. A bounty system governs the response of law enforcement and bounty hunters to crimes committed by players. Players can traverse the open world alone or in a posse of up to seven players, with or against whom they can partake in organized activities.

Developed in tandem with the single-player story, Red Dead Online is viewed as a separate product despite the development team's wishes to translate elements of the single-player to a multiplayer environment. The team took lessons learned from the multiplayer of Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto Online when developing the game. Red Dead Online received criticism at launch for its balancing of gameplay and in-game currency; later updates addressed the issues. It received positive responses with praise for its presentation of missions, co-operative events, and technical improvements. Like Grand Theft Auto Online, the game receives constant updates that add new content, including various roles that players can select to earn additional rewards. Reception to post-release content has been generally positive, with praise directed at the more significant additions.