Red Dead Online is the multiplayer world that came with Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018. This is our full guide to it: the confirmed facts, every update from the beta to the 2025 surprise missions, all five roles, the money, the people, numbers we calculated ourselves, and how it compares with GTA Online. Updated November 6, 2026.
Red Dead Online at a glance
Eight years of Red Dead Online, by our count
Red Dead Online has been running for 2,901 days.
We worked these out from Rockstar's own release dates in the timeline below. Nobody else lists them together.
What Red Dead Online is
Red Dead Online is the multiplayer side of Red Dead Redemption 2. You make your own outlaw, get broken out of prison, and ride the same five-state map as Arthur Morgan, with or without other players. It is set in 1898, a year before the main story, so towns like Blackwater and the far west are there in an earlier time.
Instead of businesses and heists like GTA Online, it is built around roles: frontier trades you level up, each with its own contact, missions and gear. There is also a short story line with honour choices, Showdown competitive modes, races, free-roam events, hunting, fishing, and a camp you can set up and move.
Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Oct 26, 2018 | Red Dead Redemption 2 launches on PS4 and Xbox One |
| Nov 27, 2018 | Red Dead Online beta opens, first for Ultimate Edition owners, then for everyone by November 30 |
| May 15, 2019 | The beta label comes off |
| Sep 10, 2019 | Frontier Pursuits: the Bounty Hunter, Trader and Collector roles, and the first Outlaw Pass |
| Nov 5, 2019 | RDR2 and Red Dead Online arrive on PC |
| Dec 13, 2019 | Moonshiners: the fourth role, with Maggie Fike and a hidden bar |
| Jul 28, 2020 | The Naturalist: the fifth role and Legendary Animals |
| Dec 1, 2020 | Red Dead Online goes on sale on its own, without the story |
| Jul 13, 2021 | Blood Money: Capitale, Crimes and Opportunities for Guido Martelli |
| Jul 7, 2022 | Rockstar says it is moving its focus to GTA 6, ending big Red Dead Online updates |
| Jan 18, 2023 | The Google Stadia version closes with Stadia itself |
| Jul 1, 2025 | Strange Tales of the West: four new Telegram Missions with author Theodore Levin, including zombies |
| Nov 2026 | The Thanksgiving event: triple rewards on Trader sales and ten times RDO$ on turkey sales |
The five roles
| Role | Added | Your contact | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bounty Hunter | Sep 2019 | Local sheriffs | Bring in wanted outlaws, alive pays more, and later Legendary Bounties |
| Trader | Sep 2019 | Cripps, your camp cook | Hunt and butcher animals to make goods, then deliver them |
| Collector | Sep 2019 | Madam Nazar | Find sets of rare items across the map and sell them |
| Moonshiner | Dec 2019 | Maggie Fike | Brew and sell moonshine from a hidden shack and bar |
| Naturalist | Jul 2020 | Harriet Davenport and Gus Macmillan | Sample and study animals for Harriet, or hunt them for Gus |
Each role has its own ranks and unlocks. The Naturalist split players down the middle on purpose: Harriet wants animals sedated and studied, Gus wants them skinned and sold.
Blood Money, the last big update
Blood Money, on July 13, 2021, brought crime to Saint Denis. It added a third currency, Capitale, earned from short Crimes, and spent on Opportunities: bigger multi-part jobs for Guido Martelli, a figure from RDR2's story. It was the last major expansion Red Dead Online got before Rockstar moved its focus to GTA 6.
Money: RDO$, Gold Bars and Capitale
- RDO$: the everyday cash, earned from missions, roles and selling.
- Gold Bars: the premium currency, earned slowly in play or bought with real money. Roles and many items need Gold.
- Capitale: added in Blood Money, earned from Crimes and spent on Opportunities.
- Outlaw Passes: seasonal reward tracks, starting with Frontier Pursuits in 2019.
Who's who
- Horley and Jessica LeClerk: the two figures behind the online story missions, which start with your release from prison.
- Cripps: runs your camp and the Trader business.
- Madam Nazar: the fortune teller from RDR2's story, buying collections.
- Maggie Fike: runs the moonshine business.
- Harriet Davenport: the conservationist, first met in RDR2.
- Gus Macmillan: Harriet's hunting rival in the Naturalist role.
- Guido Martelli: the Saint Denis crime figure behind Blood Money.
- Theodore Levin: the author from RDR2's story, chasing strange tales in 2025.
Where you can play it
| Platform | Since | Status |
|---|---|---|
| PS4, Xbox One | Nov 2018 | Online. Also plays on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S through backward compatibility |
| PC | Nov 5, 2019 | Online, through the Rockstar Games Launcher, Steam and Epic |
| Google Stadia | Nov 2019 | Closed January 18, 2023 |
There is no native PS5 or Xbox Series X|S version of Red Dead Online. Rockstar has not announced one.
Red Dead Online today
In July 2022 Rockstar said it would stop making major updates for Red Dead Online and move its focus to GTA 6. Since then the game has had monthly events with bonus payouts and returning clothes, small fixes, and one surprise: Strange Tales of the West, four new Telegram Missions on July 1, 2025, the first new missions in four years.
The November 2026 event runs through the month: triple RDO$, XP and Role XP on Trader sales, double Trader materials from perfect carcasses and pelts, ten times RDO$ on turkey sales, and the Pittman outfit pieces as weekly rewards.
Our take: Red Dead Online is a quiet game now, not a dead one. The servers are up, the events keep coming every month, and Rockstar has not announced a shutdown. If you want new story content, it is not the place. If you want the RDR2 world with friends, it still works.
Red Dead Online versus GTA Online
| Red Dead Online | GTA Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | November 2018 | October 2013 |
| Players per session | 32 | 30 |
| Built around | Five roles | Businesses and heists |
| Major updates | 6, the last full one in 2021 | 25, the latest in July 2026 |
| Native PS5 and Xbox Series version | No | Yes, since 2022 |
| Sold on its own | Yes, since 2020 | Yes on PS5 and Xbox Series, since 2022 |
| Status in November 2026 | Monthly events, no big updates | Weekly events and twice-yearly updates |
Our full guide to the other one is on the GTA Online page.
Questions people ask
Is Red Dead Online still being updated?
It gets monthly events with bonuses and rewards, but no major updates since 2021. The last new missions were Strange Tales of the West in July 2025.
Is Red Dead Online shutting down?
Rockstar has not announced a shutdown. Only the Google Stadia version closed, in January 2023, when Stadia itself shut.
Is Red Dead Online on PS5?
You can play the PS4 version on PS5 through backward compatibility. There is no native PS5 or Xbox Series X|S version.
Do I need Red Dead Redemption 2 to play Red Dead Online?
No. It comes with RDR2, but it has also been sold on its own since December 1, 2020.
How many roles are there in Red Dead Online?
Five: Bounty Hunter, Trader, Collector, Moonshiner and Naturalist.
When is Red Dead Online set?
In 1898, one year before Red Dead Redemption 2's story begins.
Sources
- Rockstar Newswire posts for each update, dated in the timeline above
- Rockstar statement on Red Dead Online, July 7, 2022
- Rockstar Newswire, Strange Tales of the West, July 1, 2025
- Rockstar Newswire, This Month in Red Dead Online, November 2026
- Take-Two Interactive, Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings call, August 7, 2026 (RDR2 sales)
Every count in "Eight years of Red Dead Online, by our count" and the comparison with GTA Online is SixStarsWanted's own calculation from those dates.