Red Dead Online beta kicks off this week

Saddle up, partner; the Red Dead Online beta is upon us! Many of us have completed the story of Arthur Morgan and co. and have been eagerly awaiting news about the upcoming online component of Red Dead Redemption 2. In a press release from Rockstar Games, news has come that starting the 28th November (tomorow!), those who purchased the Ultimate Edition of Red Dead Redemption 2 will have access to the online beta. Over the next week, the gates will gradually open up for more players to join in.

Red Dead Online is set to combine the classic gameplay of the original Red Dead Redemption’s online mode with the lessons Rockstar have learned with the immense success of GTA Online – a monolithic commercial and critical hit unlike gaming history has ever seen.

“To help us ease into the beta and to mitigate major issues, we will begin the early access period starting Wednesday, November 28 at 00:30am AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time), and gradually scale the player base up to full access beginning on Saturday, December 1,” Rockstar explain. They cite server load testing and avoiding server crashes as the reason for the tiered rollout of access.

Red Dead Online access schedule:

– Wednesday, November 28: All Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition owners. Please note, players who purchased the physical Ultimate Edition must redeem the Ultimate Edition code in the packaging to be eligible.

– Thursday, November 29: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26th according to our data.

– Friday, November 30: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 between October 26th to October 29th according to our data.

-Saturday, December 1: All players who own Red Dead Redemption 2.

Players can look forward to a living, breathing open world filled with other gangs, factions, and enemy players. Rockstar state that players can explore solo or with a posse of up to 7 other players , “head out hunting or fishing; visit bustling towns; battle enemy gangs and attack their hideouts; hunt for treasure; take on missions and interact with familiar characters from across the five states; or fight against other outlaws in both spontaneous skirmishes and pitched set-piece battles; compete with other players or whole Posses in open world challenges and much more.”

You can expect our impressions of Red Dead Online in the coming days. Check out my review of Red Dead Redemption 2 here.