Red Dead Redemption 2, released in 2018, was the blockbuster sequel to Rockstar Games' influential Red Dead Redemption, which came out in 2010. Red Dead Online, the cowboy-flavored online companion to the game, was released the following year after a period in beta. While initially successful and supported, gradually Rockstar Games tapered off content releases for the online game mode, and soon (at the time of writing) it will be a whole year since any new content has been added.
Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place in 1899 and follows the story of Arthur Morgan, an outlaw, and member of the Dutch van der Linde Gang. Returning characters from the previous game (which is primarily set 12 years in the future in 1911) include previous protagonist John Marston (subject to one of Red Dead Redemption 2's biggest spoilers) and his family, Dutch van der Linde, Javier Escuela, and Bill Williamson. Red Dead Online takes place a year earlier, in 1898, and follows the escapades of a custom character of the player's design as they navigate the world of outlaws and lawmen in a dying West. Opportunities include bounty hunting, collecting rare and exotic curios, becoming a trader, or starting an illicit moonshine business.
Unfortunately, come July 6, 2022, Red Dead Online will have gone a full year without an update, and many fans think that July 5 is the last chance they have of hearing of one before resigning to the notion that Rockstar Games has abandoned the service. Speculation has been rampant, from data mining revealing unused game content and sparking rumors of possible DLC, to tracking yearly release schedules and using them to extrapolate when the next major content release will be. Many fans think Take Two doesn't understand their RDO complaints at all. All of this comes from a fanbase that has started petitions, trended a hashtag (#SaveRedDeadOnline), and constantly called for word from the developers on a game they have sunk many hours into.
Why July 5 Is An Important Day For Red Dead Online Players
July 6, 2022 marks one year without any Red Dead Online content updates. Rockstar has kept updates in the form of monthly and weekly challenges, deals, and community events, but nothing on the scale of 2021's Blood Money, or 2019's Frontier Pursuits. It is rare for a developer to offer no major content update for a full year on a game they are still ostensibly supporting, and many players believe that if that mark passes and Rockstar Games issues no statement, they are signaling that they are not interested in supporting Red Dead Online further.
Many videos and Reddit posts have been made calling for action in Red Dead Online on July 5, believing there's still time to save Red Dead Online. Youtuber TheProfessional released a video detailing his views on the subject. In it, he states that he believes that the date is important, and Rockstar Games will have washed their hands of the service should they not release so much as a paragraph-sized update on any new content in the works come July 5th.
Rockstar Games' silence on the state of Red Dead Online has left many fans disillusioned. Many have resigned themselves to not getting any new content, while some still hold out hope. With the one-year mark fast approaching since the release of Blood Money, it will be up to Rockstar Games to definitively answer whether or not they still intend to support their Wild West online experience.
Source: TheProfessional/YouTube