Red Dead Online beta start date, battle royale mode, rumours, leaks and more

Now that Red Dead Redemption 2 is out in the wild, fans are asking when the Red Dead Online beta is likely to begin.

Much like GTA 5 and its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption 2 will have an online multiplayer feature called Red Dead Online. Access to the public beta is free for anyone who has purchased Red Dead Redemption 2, though not many details are available about it just yet.

Here at VG247, we came up with our own list of things we’d like to see in Red Dead Online, and hopefully our dreams will come true.

Red Dead Online beta start date

According to Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick, Red Dead Online will be available towards the end of November. Once we have a firm date, we’ll let you know.

Red Dead Online gameplay modes

The big news is that Red Dead Online will have a Battle Royale mode. We don’t know how bit the player count will be, whether it sits at a customised 88-players like Call of Duty’s Blackout, or the 100-player figure as standardised by Fortnite.

Playlists such as Revive and Survive, Money Grab also look to be returning. Revive and Survive is a deathmatch where two teams go against one another, and you can revive fallen teammates in a limited time window. Money Grab tasks players with securing bags of cash and returning them to base as quickly as possible, which hopefully involves a few train heists and bank robberies.

Also of interest and familiar to GTA Online players is the mention of Free Roam missions and Free Roam Events, and a Persistent Posse mentioned in Red Dead Redemption 2’s achievements list.

Free Roam Events in GTA Online are often live events that kick off in the open world every 25 minutes or so, allowing players to jump in and fight over an item drop or take part in a race. A Persistent Posse sounds like the equivalent of GTA Online’s Crews where players can join and earn extra RP for playing with fellow members. We’d expect those Posse’s to develop into full-blown organisations that have leaders, bodyguards and bosses over time.

Datamining site Rockstar Intel offers another insight into what else might be coming to Red Dead Online. GTA Online had a similar system in its 1v1 Deathmatch to the speculated Adversary Mode which has been found in the Red Dead Online files, so here’s what your choices could be should you be killed by an opponent:

Inform Law
Duel
Parley
Feud
Leader Feud.

Duelling would be a welcome addition to Red Dead Online and we could definitely get behind aiming for first place on the Leaderboard as the fastest hand in the West.

There was also a file named Predator Ability which could be related to the Dead-Eye functionality in the main game or the abundant wildlife you can hunt.

Red Dead Online beta basics

Like GTA Online, Red Dead Online will be a reactive open-world experience to explore in multiplayer. It will undoubtedly begin with an explosive intro that comes with its own trophy/achievement for completing it.

Rumours suggest Red Dead Online will begin with a jailbreak, but no details have been confirmed.

The game is based on the original Red Dead Redemption multiplayer and will use the gameplay in Red Dead Redemption 2 as a foundation. It will receive constant updates and adjustments over the course of its lifetime, so we can expect folk to be playing it for years to come.

As is common in most open-world games there will be a day and night cycle, so you’ll see NPCs decorate storefronts in the morning and pack everything up in the evening.

Player lodgings will return in the form of tents which can be bought and upgraded. There’s another trophy/achievement for purchasing improvements for your camp, so you aren’t free from Dutch’s ledger just yet.

Much like GTA Online, completing various tasks will earn you XP and many of the NPCs in the world will offer missions or equipment.

The companion app will also play a part in Red Dead Online, focusing on poker tournaments amongst other things.

Rockstar has been vocal about making Red Dead Online as robust and engaging as GTA Online and asks that players give it a chance, as the beta is expected to be full of bugs.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vehicles and horses

Whilst the humble horse is the favoured mode of transport in Red Dead Redemption 2, it wouldn’t be a Rockstar game without a few speedy vehicles. A recent Red Dead Redemption 2 datamine has revealed the possibility of player-owned vehicles, as well as the aforementioned properties.

The site Rockstar Intel believes these to be tied to Red Dead Online, as the single-player mode doesn’t currently allow players to purchase houses or vehicles. There’s no way to verify this at present, so the these may well be intended for the single-player portion of Red Dead Redemption 2 in future update or DLC.

The leaked vehicles we hope are coming to Red Dead Online are: