The Red Dead Online Beta officially launched on Tuesday for Ultimate Edition owners of Red Dead Redemption 2. The multiplayer mode of Rockstar’s Western themed open-world blockbuster has been widely anticipated by fans of the game since it launched in October.
However, there has been a question looming for some time on whether microtransactions would be featured. And if they were, would they play a big role in the multiplayer experience of Red Dead Redemption 2?
Rockstar have now confirmed that microtransactions will arrive in Red Dead Online. They will feature as a second currency – Gold Bars. Players will eventually be able to purchase them via the in-game menu.
The developers have stated that players will use gold bars to ''directly acquire cosmetic items like Camp décor'' or a ''special style'' for their weapons. It’s also worth noting that gold bars can also be earned within the game as well as being able to purchase for real cash. Once players earn 100 Golden Nuggets, they will automatically receive 1 Gold Bar.
However, in the current state of the beta, it will take players an extremely long amount of time to earn gold bars through gameplay alone. One Reddit user, Inowannausedesktop, stated, "I played for about 7 hours today doing nothing but the stranger missions, the main story missions, gang hideouts, and one or two open world events. I now have 0.87 gold bars. At this rate (on a very rough basis of calculation, but based of off my own play style that I consider pretty grind worthy) I’d basically have to play 40 hours a week for three weeks to unlock a decent horse''.
This isn't great news at all for players who don't want to spend real money. But this could be subject to change given that Red Dead Online is in an very early stage.
At the time of writing, the Red Dead Online Beta is now available for players who’ve been playing RDR2 since the October 26th release date (according to Rockstar data). On Thursday, 29th November, it will become available for all players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 between October 26th to October 29th. Then on Friday, 30th November, the beta will be available to all owners of the game.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is now available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
GroovyGoose
How disappointing. A lot of people seem totally content spending even more money than they are already paying, in the form of the various ‘premium’ editions, consoles and hardware, in addition to PS+/Xbox Live. I could be doing something useful in the countless hours I’d spend grinding. Not going to waste my time with this nonsense. I can’t help but think we wouldn’t have all these bullshit microtransactions if people didn’t buy into it. But, well, let’s face it, these companies know how to game the human brain, and a lot of people have agreed that this is acceptable and not at all predatory, so I doubt much will change.