Does Red Dead Redemption 2 Have Cross-Play?

Red Dead Online Masks 1
Red Dead Online

If you’re looking for a rooting, tooting time in which to do some shooting, you aren’t going to get much more rooting or tooting than Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Though released in 2018, the open world slice of life/sadness simulator remains one of the most popular games around, with its Red Dead Online multiplayer offering having a small but super dedicated following of fans.

It hasn’t been all sunshine and chewing tobacco for Red Dead Online, as fans haven’t quite received the post-launch support that Rockstar’s previous game, the absolutely gigantic Grand Theft Auto 5, has enjoyed over the course of the last decade. Red Dead Online is missing so many features and just general content, in fact, that some players still aren’t sure if the game has cross-platform play.

Unfortunately, Red Dead Redemption 2, and therefore Red Dead Online, doesn’t support any kind of cross-play. Only PC players can play with PC players, only PlayStation players can play with PlayStation players, and only Xbox players can play with Xbox players.

 

Does Red Dead Redemption 2 Have Cross-Progression?

As well as not being able to play with friends on different platforms, players also cannot carry over saves and progress between different platforms that aren’t in the same family. If you buy the game on PC and PlayStation, for instance, you will have to start a new save per platform as you aren’t able to continue your progress, which feels like an oversight. You are able to continue progress if you play on PS4 and later install it on your PS5, or start on Xbox One and pick it up on Xbox Series, though it’s worth noting that this will just be through backwards compatibility as there’s no native versions currently available on PS5 or Xbox Series.

If you’re disappointed by this news, it’s worth bearing in mind that the game came out just as games like Fortnite were beginning to make cross-play and cross-progression commonplace. Red Dead Online also didn’t see the kind of popularity you’d expect from a Rockstar game, which is likely why Rockstar haven’t retrofitted some kind of system in. They could technically still add cross-play to Red Dead Online, but with GTA 6 and ongoing support for GTA 5 their priority, it’s extremely unlikely.

 

Is Red Dead Online Still Popular?

Red Dead Online launched with a lot of hype, but as mentioned, Rockstar never really managed to capitalise on the game’s early boom. The standalone version of Red Dead Online usually only manages a few thousand concurrent players at best on Steam, a huge drop off from the popularity of GTA V, which enjoys tens of thousands of players even in it quieter moments.

Rockstar have stopped actively developing substantial, brand new content for the game, but there is still fun to be had here, especially if you can get together a posse and all of you have your own jobs. There’s a good amount of story content too, so even those who don’t play well with others will find something to grab their attention for a couple dozen hours. However, there are growing reports of cheaters in PC lobbies, so bear that in mind.

Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online are available now on PC, PS4, PS5 (via BC), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X & S (via BC).

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