Red Dead Redemption 2 is an action-adventure game released in 2018 by Rockstar Games. It is the third game in the Red Dead series and a prequel to the 2010 game Red Dead Redemption. The story takes place in a made-up version of the United States in 1899 and follows Arthur Morgan, an outlaw in the Van der Linde gang. Arthur faces challenges from the changing Wild West, including conflicts with government forces, rival gangs, and other enemies. The game allows players to view the world from first-person or third-person perspectives and explore an open, interactive world. Gameplay includes activities such as shootouts, robberies, hunting, horseback riding, interacting with other characters, and making choices that affect a character’s honor rating. A bounty system determines how law enforcement and bounty hunters respond to the player’s actions.
The game took more than eight years to develop, starting shortly after the release of Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar combined all of its studios into one team to create the game. The developers used real-world locations for inspiration instead of relying on films or art, aiming to accurately reflect the time period in the game’s characters and environment. This was Rockstar’s first game designed specifically for eighth-generation consoles, after testing their capabilities while porting Grand Theft Auto V. The game’s soundtrack includes an original score by Woody Jackson and vocal tracks produced by Daniel Lanois. The development process involved long work hours, with reports of mandatory and unpaid overtime. Red Dead Online, the game’s multiplayer mode, allows up to 32 players to participate in cooperative and competitive activities.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in October 2018 and for Windows and Stadia in November 2019. It set multiple records, including the second-largest entertainment launch in history, earning $725 million in sales during its first weekend. It surpassed the lifetime sales of Red Dead Redemption within eight days. Critics praised the game’s story, characters, open world, graphics, music, and attention to detail, though some criticized its control system and focus on realism. The game won over 175 Game of the Year awards and received many other honors from awards shows and gaming publications. It is considered one of the most important releases for eighth-generation consoles and among the greatest video games ever made. It is the fourth-best-selling video game, with more than 82 million copies sold.
Gameplay
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Western-themed action-adventure game. Players can view the game from a first-person or third-person perspective. The game takes place in an open-world environment that is based on an imagined version of the United States in 1899. The game includes both single-player and online multiplayer modes, with the multiplayer part called Red Dead Online. Most of the game is played as Arthur Morgan, an outlaw in the Van der Linde gang, who completes missions—tasks with specific goals—to advance the story. After the story ends, players control John Marston, the main character from Red Dead Redemption. Outside of missions, players can explore the world freely. They can fight enemies using melee attacks, guns, bows, arrows, thrown items, or dynamite. Players can also use two weapons at once. Arthur can swim, but John cannot.
The game’s world includes different landscapes, such as forests, mountains, and cities. Players can see travelers, bandits, and animals. Transportation mainly involves horses, which come in different breeds with unique traits. Players can steal horses or train wild ones to ride. To own a horse, players must saddle it or keep it in a stable. The more players interact with their horse—like feeding, cleaning, or petting it—the stronger the bond becomes, giving them advantages during rides. Players can also use stagecoaches or trains for travel. They can take over a train or stagecoach by threatening the driver and stealing its contents or passengers. Players may encounter random events, such as fights, crimes, or people asking for help. Helping others can earn rewards. Players can also do side activities, like playing games, hunting, or collecting items. Hunting provides food, money, and materials for making tools. The type of weapon used and where the player shoots affect the value of the animal’s meat and hide. Players can skin animals or carry their bodies, but the meat will spoil over time, lowering its value and attracting predators.
Some parts of the story let players choose whether to accept or decline extra missions, slightly changing the story based on their choices. Players can talk to other characters in different ways, such as being kind or rude. If a player kills a character, they can take items from the body. The game has an Honor system that tracks how players act. Doing good things, like helping others or following the law, increases Honor. Doing bad things, like stealing or harming people, decreases Honor. Choices and outcomes often depend on the player’s Honor level. High Honor gives special clothes and discounts, while low Honor gives more items from looting.
In addition to health and stamina, players have "cores," which affect how quickly health and stamina recover. Cold or heat can drain cores quickly, but wearing the right clothes prevents this. Eating too much or too little changes the player’s weight. Being too thin lowers health but increases stamina, while being too heavy increases damage resistance but lowers stamina. Eating and sleeping restores cores. Players can bathe to stay clean or visit a barber to change their hairstyle, which grows naturally over time.
Weapons need cleaning to work well. Using a weapon often improves how well it handles, reduces shaking, and speeds up reloading. Players can hide behind objects, aim freely, or target specific people or animals. Players can aim for body parts to injure targets without killing them. Weapons include pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, bows, explosives, lassos, mounted Gatling guns, and tools like knives and tomahawks. Players can use the Dead Eye system to slow time and mark targets. After marking, players fire at all marked spots quickly. The Dead Eye system improves over time, giving abilities like targeting vital spots.
If players commit crimes, witnesses tell the law. Players can stop witnesses to avoid trouble. If the law finds out, a reward is placed on the player’s head. More crimes raise the reward and send more lawmen to catch the player. If the player escapes, bounty hunters will chase them. After committing too many crimes, U.S. Marshals will be sent to find the player. To avoid the law, players can hide, run away, or fight. The reward stays on the player’s head, and people in areas where crimes happened will be more watchful. If caught, players can surrender if unarmed and on foot. Players can pay the reward or go to jail to remove the bounty.
Synopsis
The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 includes five fictional U.S. states: New Hanover, Ambarino, and Lemoyne are located north and east of New Austin and West Elizabeth, which return from Red Dead Redemption. Ambarino is a mountain area with few people, and the only settlement is the Wapiti Indian Reservation. New Hanover has valleys, forests, and plains, with towns like Valentine, Van Horn Trading Post, and Annesburg. Lemoyne includes bayous and plantations similar to the Deep South, with towns like Rhodes, Lagras, and Saint Denis, which resembles New Orleans. West Elizabeth has plains, forests, and the port town of Blackwater, which now includes the mountain resort of Strawberry. New Austin is a desert near Mexico, centered on Armadillo and Tumbleweed. Parts of New Austin and West Elizabeth were changed to reflect earlier times: Blackwater is under construction, Armadillo is a ghost town due to a disease, and Tumbleweed is declining.
The player controls Arthur Morgan (Roger Clark), a member of the Van der Linde gang led by Dutch van der Linde (Benjamin Byron Davis), who opposes modern society. The gang includes Dutch’s friend Hosea Matthews (Curzon Dobell), John Marston (Rob Wiethoff) and his family, other members like Bill Williamson (Steve J. Palmer), Sadie Adler (Alex McKenna), and others. The gang conflicts with Leviticus Cornwall (John Rue), who hires Pinkerton detectives (Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross) to stop them. They also face enemies like Colm O’Driscoll (Andrew Berg), the Gray and Braithwaite families, and Governor Alberto Fussar (Alfredo Narciso). Later, Arthur helps Native American leaders Rains Fall (Graham Greene) and Eagle Flies (Jeremiah Bitsui), whose land is threatened by the U.S. Army.
After a failed ferry robbery in 1899, the gang flees Blackwater and plans to retire by robbing a train owned by Cornwall. They perform jobs to earn money, but Dutch keeps promising the next heist will be their last. A shootout in Valentine forces them to move to Lemoyne, where they work for the Gray and Braithwaite families. The families betray them: the Grays kill Sean, and the Braithwaites kidnap Jack. The gang destroys both families and retrieves Jack, but later, Cornwall’s men arrest John and kill Hosea. The gang flees to Cuba on a ship, which sinks in a storm. They wash ashore on Guarma, where they help locals overthrow Fussar and return to the U.S.
Dutch becomes paranoid and plans one last heist, naming Micah his top lieutenant after Arthur disobeys him. Arthur grows concerned as Dutch abandons their ideals and kills Cornwall. After learning he has tuberculosis, Arthur urges John to escape with his family and helps the Wapiti Indians. Some gang members leave, and Dutch and Micah plan a final heist on an Army payroll train. Arthur’s trust in Dutch breaks when Dutch abandons him and refuses to save Abigail. Arthur and Sadie rescue Abigail, who kills Micah after he betrays them. Arthur confronts Micah, but Dutch intervenes. Arthur convinces Dutch to leave. If the player has high honor, Arthur dies watching the sunrise; if low, Micah kills him.
In 1907, John and his family try to live honestly on a ranch. Abigail leaves with Jack, but John buys a ranch with a loan and proposes to Abigail. He later finds Micah alive and attacks his camp, where Dutch kills Micah. John marries Abigail, and they start a new life with Jack and Uncle. Sadie and Charles leave for other pursuits.
Mid-credits scenes show Edgar Ross tracking Micah’s killer, hinting at events in Red Dead Redemption.
Development
Work on Red Dead Redemption 2 began soon after the original game, Red Dead Redemption (2010), was released. Rockstar San Diego, the studio that made the original game, had a basic plan for the new game by mid-2011. By late 2012, rough scripts for the game were completed. Rockstar Games later combined all its studios into one large team called Rockstar Games to help with development. Around 2,000 people worked on the game. Experts estimate the total cost for making and promoting the game was between $370 million and $540 million, making it one of the most expensive video games ever made.
The original game focused on protecting family at all costs, while Red Dead Redemption 2 follows the breakdown of a family in the Van der Linde gang. The team wanted to explore why the gang fell apart, a topic mentioned in the first game. Rockstar’s Vice President of Creativity, Dan Houser, was inspired by films and books but avoided modern works to prevent accusations of copying ideas. The team focused on real locations to create an accurate reflection of the time. The game shows differences between rich and poor people and between cities and wild areas. Houser viewed the game as historical fiction, choosing to hint at historical events instead of retelling them.
Recording sessions for the game started in 2013. Rockstar aimed to create a diverse group of characters in the Van der Linde gang. Writers focused on each character’s background and reasons for joining the gang. Some characters were removed during development because their stories did not help the game’s narrative. Actors mostly followed the script but sometimes added their own lines. The team decided the player would control one main character instead of three, as in Grand Theft Auto V (2013), to better follow the character’s personal journey and understand how events affect him. A single character was chosen to fit the Western story structure.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was the first Rockstar game built specifically for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Rockstar tested these consoles when moving Grand Theft Auto V from older systems. After identifying technical limits, the team focused on areas needing improvement. A goal was to make the player feel like they are living in the game world rather than completing missions or watching cutscenes. This was achieved through a moving camp where the player interacts with other characters. Characters kept the same personality and mood during cutscenes and gameplay to make the world feel more realistic.
Woody Jackson, who worked on the original game and Grand Theft Auto V, returned to compose the music for Red Dead Redemption 2. The game has three types of music: narrative (during story missions), interactive (while exploring the world or in multiplayer), and environmental (like campfire songs or music played by characters). The music changes based on the player’s choices. Jackson bought instruments from a group featured in classic cowboy films. Over 110 musicians worked on the game’s music. Daniel Lanois produced vocal tracks with artists like D’Angelo, Willie Nelson, Rhiannon Giddens, and Josh Homme. Ivan Pavlovich, the music director, worked with saxophonist Colin Stetson, experimental band Senyawa, and musician Arca.
Before the game’s release, Dan Houser said the team worked 100-hour weeks several times in 2018, which some interpreted as “crunch time.” Rockstar clarified this referred only to senior writers for three weeks. Houser said the company would never force employees to work that long, and those who stayed late did so out of passion. However, some employees said Houser’s comments did not reflect the company’s culture, which included mandatory overtime and long periods of crunch. Many employees were not paid for overtime due to salary-based contracts but relied on year-end bonuses tied to sales. Some employees said working conditions improved since Red Dead Redemption’s development. By April 2020, many reported significant changes and felt cautiously optimistic about Rockstar’s future.
Rockstar first showed Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 16–17, 2016, and officially announced it on October 18, 2016. Originally planned for release in 2017, the game was delayed twice: first to early 2018, then to October 26, 2018. Rockstar said more time was needed to “polish” the game. To boost pre-orders, Rockstar partnered with retailers to offer special editions. A companion app, released with the game, lets players view in-game items like catalogs and maps. The game was released for Windows on November 5, 2019, and was a launch title for Stadia on November 19, 2019. The Windows version includes visual and technical improvements.
The online multiplayer part of Red Dead Redemption 2, called Red Dead Online, was released as a public beta on November 27, 2018, for players who bought a special edition of the game. It later opened to all owners. Players create characters and explore the world alone or in groups. Events allow up to 32 players to participate individually or in teams. Completing activities gives experience points to level up characters and earn rewards. Though Red Dead Online and the main game share assets, Rockstar treated them as separate products. Progress from the beta carried over after it ended on May 15, 2019. A standalone client for Red Dead Online was released on December 1, 2020, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. Free updates added content after release. In July 2022, Rockstar said Red Dead Online would not get major updates, focusing instead on smaller missions and expanding existing modes as resources shifted to Grand Theft Auto VI.
Reception
Red Dead Redemption 2 received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic. It is one of the highest-rated games on Metacritic and the highest-rated PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game alongside Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V. Reviewers praised the story, characters, open world, graphics, music, and level of detail. Matt Bertz of Game Informer described the game as "the biggest and most cohesive adventure Rockstar Games has ever created," and GamesRadar's David Meikleham felt it "represents the current pinnacle of video game design." Keza MacDonald of The Guardian called it "a landmark game" and "a new high water-mark for lifelike video game worlds," while IGN's Luke Reilly named it "one of the greatest games of the modern age." Peter Suderman of The New York Times considered Red Dead Redemption 2 an example of video games as works of art, comparing its abilities to "[tell] individual stories against the backdrop of national and cultural identity, deconstructing their genres while advancing the form," to the modern state of film and television with similar works like The Godfather and The Sopranos.
Regarding its narrative, Meikleham of GamesRadar called Red Dead Redemption 2 "perhaps the boldest triple-A game ever made," praising the unpredictability of the story and comparing its ending to The Last of Us (2013). The Guardian's MacDonald praised the story's twists, applauding the writers' ability to weave smaller stories into the overall narrative. Nick Plessas of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) noted that the best stories "are to be found in the margins," discovered and written by the player. Game Informer's Bertz felt the narrative rarely suffered from repetition, an impressive feat considering the game's scope, though he expressed a desire for more passive, quiet moments. Conversely, GameSpot's Kallie Plagge was frustrated by the predictability later in the narrative, though she acknowledged its importance to Arthur's story. Alex Navarro of Giant Bomb felt the narrative suffered in its clichéd portrayal of Native American characters and side missions. Some reviewers commented on the game's slow opening hours and its lengthy epilogue.
EGM's Plessas found Arthur's journey of redemption "far more redeeming" than John's in Red Dead Redemption, noting his sins heightened his sympathy for the character. Conversely, Eurogamer's Martin Robinson considered Arthur less compelling than Marston, resulting in a confusing narrative. GameSpot's Plagge felt the new characters contributed to the story's quality, and Mike Williams of USgamer wrote they "feel like actual people" due to their varied personalities. IGN's Reilly praised the cultural variety and avoidance of caricatures, and Giant Bomb's Navarro noted the characters possess humanity often lacking in other Rockstar games, particularly in the thoughtful portrayal of Arthur's internal conflicts. MacDonald of The Guardian found the performances led to more believable characters. Polygon's Chris Plante found the political commentary shone when focusing on the Braithwaite and Gray families but considered the portrayal of Native American characters insensitive and confusing. Eirik Gumeny of Polygon praised the realistic and unfiltered depiction of tuberculosis, including the misguided and hostile reactions from others.
Several critics considered Red Dead Redemption 2's open world among the greatest in video games; EGM's Plessas said it "pushes industry boundaries in both size and detail," and The Guardian's MacDonald praised the imitation of real American landscapes. IGN's Reilly considered the world "broader, more beautiful, and more varied" than its predecessor's, due in part to how each environment feels alive. GameSpot's Plagge felt compelled to explore the open world due to its variety, reactivity, and surprises. GamesRadar's Meikleham called Red Dead Redemption 2 "the best looking video game of all time" with some of the most impressive lighting and weather systems, and USgamer's Williams considered it one of the best-looking on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. IGN's Reilly praised the lighting engine, facial animation, and level of granular detail. Game Informer's Bertz lauded the attention to detail and found the world felt more alive due to "an unrivaled dynamic weather system, ambient sound effects, and the most ambitious ecology of flora and fauna ever seen in games."
Several reviewers lauded the level of detail in all aspects of gameplay—EGM's Plessas felt the attention to detail led to deeper immersion—though some found the sheer amount of realism restricted opportunities and unnecessarily prolonged some animations. IGN's Reilly felt Arthur's movement did not feel cumbersome despite being "heavier" than Grand Theft Auto V's protagonists, and found the intimate battles more exciting. Polygon's Plante considered the conversation options limited but still an improvement over the violence of other action games. Eurogamer's Robinson voiced frustration at the lack of freedom in some story missions. Some reviewers criticized the controls and found its button layout and user interface inconsistent and confusing.
A YouTube channel was briefly suspended in November 2018 after posting several videos of his player character murdering a female suffragette NPC, including feeding her to an alligator and dropping her down a mineshaft; the majority of the videos' comments were misogynistic. Some critics questioned if Rockstar was partly to blame for the behavior, as the game does not limit attacks on the suffragette as it does other characters, such as children; in Games and Culture, Kristine Jørgensen and Torill Elvira Mortensen acknowledged this concern but recognized the responsibility ultimately lay with the player, and limiting attacks could be interpreted as a political statement from Rockstar and a restriction on the player's freedom of expression. Writing for The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, Hilary Jane Locke and Thomas Mackay wrote it "points to a sharp contrast between the game's portrayal of Progressive Era politics … and how some players have responded to its depictions thereof." In Public History Weekly, Moritz Hoffman noted the incident reflected a newer issue of open world games: granting freedom without penalties promotes disinhibition.
Red Dead Redemption 2's Windows release received "universal acclaim" according to Metacritic; it is one of the highest-rated PC games. PCGamesN's Sam White thought the graphics improvements made the open world "[look] the best it ever has." Destructoid's Carter praised the addition of the Photo Mode. Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica felt the cutscene animations did not scale well to higher frame rates but considered the gameplay far superior to console. Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Matthew Castle lauded the adapted controls, particularly when painting targets in Dead Eye, though felt they took longer to familiarize oneself with. PC Gamer's James Davenport found the first-person perspective superior on the Windows version due to the responsiveness of the mouse but noted the game crashed several times; Jeuxvideo.com's Jean-Kléber Lauret echoed similar
Sales
Red Dead Redemption 2 was expected to be one of the most successful games in 2018 because the previous game in the series was very well received and sold many copies. Before the game was released, analysts made predictions about its sales. In October 2016, Ben Schacter from Macquarie Research thought the game would sell 12 million copies in its first quarter. Analysts at Cowen and Company estimated 15 million sales. In July 2018, Mat Piscatella predicted the game would sell more than other big releases in 2018, such as Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Fallout 76. Some analysts noted that other popular game series, like Assassin’s Creed and Call of Duty, released their 2018 games earlier than usual to avoid competing with Red Dead Redemption 2. In October 2018, Schacter predicted 15 million sales in the first quarter, though some investors expected 20 million. Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities predicted 25 million sales. Michael Olson of Piper Jaffray estimated the game would earn between $400 million and $500 million in its first three days, while Doug Creutz of Cowen Inc. estimated between $550 million and $600 million.
Red Dead Redemption 2 had the largest opening weekend in entertainment history, earning over $725 million in three days. It became the second-highest-grossing game launch, after Grand Theft Auto V, and set records for the most pre-orders, first-day sales, and three-day sales on the PlayStation Network. The stock price of Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, increased by 9% the week after the game’s release. Analyst Dean Takahashi noted the game likely broke even in its first week and would start making a profit by December 2018. The game sold more copies than its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption, within eight days and reached 17 million copies by the end of 2018, with sales reaching 23 million by year’s end. It generated $1.38 billion in revenue. By 2022, sales had reached 50 million copies, with yearly increases of 6 to 12 million. By dollar sales, it was the best-selling game in its first seven years and the seventh-best-selling game of the 2010s. It is the fourth-best-selling video game, with over 82 million copies sold by December 2025.
In the United States, Red Dead Redemption 2 was the best-selling game of 2018. It ranked second in October behind Black Ops 4, first in November, and third in December. It was the twelfth-best-selling game of 2019 and stayed in the top charts throughout 2019 and early 2020. In the United Kingdom, it was the best-selling retail game in its first week and the second-fastest-selling game of 2018, behind FIFA 19. Its opening week sales doubled those of its predecessor, with 68% sold on PlayStation 4. It was the third-fastest-selling non-FIFA game in its generation, behind Call of Duty games Black Ops III and Advanced Warfare. It consistently ranked among the top-selling games in Europe and the United Kingdom for several years, including second in 2018. In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version sold 132,984 copies in its first week, reaching number one on the charts. In Australia, it was the best-selling game of 2018 and fifteenth in 2020. Worldwide, the Windows version sold 406,000 copies when it launched in November 2019, and sales more than doubled to over 1 million after it was released on Steam the next month.
Legal disputes
On February 6, 2018, a publication called Trusted Reviews shared an article that included details from a private company document. The publication should have known the information was private and should not have shared it. Trusted Reviews sincerely apologized to Take-Two Games and promised not to repeat the mistake. They also agreed to give more than £1 million to charities selected by Take-Two Games.
In February 2018, Trusted Reviews published an article that revealed details about features planned for the game Red Dead Redemption 2, such as a first-person perspective and a battle royale mode in Red Dead Online. The information came from a document leaked in August 2017, which had been shared with other websites earlier. Trusted Reviews published the article after promotional materials confirmed the document’s accuracy. In November 2018, the article was replaced with an apology, stating the information was confidential and should not have been shared. As part of a settlement with Take-Two, Trusted Reviews agreed to donate over £1 million (US$1.3 million) to charities chosen by Rockstar Games: the American Indian College Fund, the American Prairie Reserve, and the First Nations Development Institute. Neither Take-Two nor Trusted Reviews mentioned any specific laws were broken. Some journalists noted that this case was unusual because it showed a legal effort to hold media outlets accountable. Seth Barton of MCV/Develop called it "an incredible development for games industry journalism" and believed it might make others hesitant to share information about Rockstar in the future. Keza MacDonald of Kotaku described the situation as "extraordinary" and suggested that Take-Two may have argued the information was a trade secret, preventing Trusted Reviews from using a defense based on public interest. She added that this could influence future actions by publications.
On December 13, 2018, Securitas AB, the parent company of the Pinkerton agency, sent a legal notice to Take-Two Interactive, claiming that Red Dead Redemption 2’s use of the Pinkerton name and badge imagery violated their trademark. Securitas demanded payment for each game sold or threatened legal action. Take-Two responded on January 11, 2019, stating the Pinkerton name was closely linked to the Wild West and that its use in the game did not infringe on the trademark. Take-Two asked the court to rule that the use of Pinkerton in the game was allowed under fair use. Javy Gwaltney of Game Informer supported Take-Two’s claims, questioning why Securitas had not previously targeted other works that depicted the Pinkerton agency. He suggested Securitas might be seeking a share of the game’s profits. Pinkerton’s president, Jack Zahran, called the game’s portrayal of Pinkertons "baseless" and "inaccurate" but hoped the companies could reach an agreement. By April 2019, Securitas withdrew its claims, and Take-Two asked to end its legal complaint.
Legacy
Critics agreed that Red Dead Redemption 2 was one of the best games of the eighth generation of video game consoles. GQ’s White called it “a generation-defining release,” and VG247’s McKeand said it was “a benchmark for other open world games to aspire to.” IGN ranked the game as the third-best Xbox One game and the eleventh-best PC and PlayStation 4 game. In November 2020, TechRadar listed it among the greatest games of the eighth generation; editor Gerald Lynch said it set the standard for realistic open world games. In December, GamesRadar+ ranked it the fifth-best game of the generation, noting it had already influenced the open-world and role-playing genres.
Since its release, Red Dead Redemption 2 has been called one of the greatest video games ever made. In March 2019, Popular Mechanics ranked it 24th on its list of greatest games. In October, IGN added it to its list of top 100 video games, placing it 62nd in 2019 and moving it to 8th in 2021; editor Luke Reilly praised its “uncompromising detail” and said it “stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Grand Theft Auto V as one of gaming’s greatest open-world achievements.” In July 2020, Dylan Haas of Mashable named it his second favorite game of all time, citing its realism, world, characters, and story. In November 2021, GamesRadar+ ranked it 28th on its list of top 50 games, calling it “one of the best sandbox games ever made.”
In April 2022, GamingBolt’s Ravi Sinha ranked Red Dead Redemption 2 the second-best game of all time, highlighting its characters, story, attention to detail, and visuals, calling it Rockstar’s “finest work.” In September, USA Today ranked it 21st on its list of best games, praising Arthur as “one of the most likable protagonists in games” and describing the world as “the real star of the show.” In May 2023, over 200 developers, journalists, and content creators surveyed by GQ ranked Red Dead Redemption 2 the 15th-best game; GQ’s Sam White and Robert Leedham called it “perhaps the greatest flex in video game history” and said it set a “benchmark for cinematic storytelling and attention to detail.” In January 2025, Rolling Stone ranked it the 16th-best game; Ashley Bardhan praised its environment as “one of the most lavishly designed open worlds in existence.”
Red Dead Redemption 2 was mentioned in the South Park episodes “Time to Get Cereal” and “Nobody Got Cereal?” in November 2018. Game footage was used in the first music video for “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X in December, which scholars noted as an example of the game’s influence on Western culture and country music. Tenacious D referenced the game in their song “Video Games,” describing it as “an incredible journey through old American history.” The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023) producer Eiji Aonuma said open world games like Red Dead Redemption 2 inspired the developers.
Joe Meizies won Virtual Photographer of the Year at the London Games Festival in April 2022 for his virtual photography in Red Dead Redemption 2. Tombstone Redemption, a fan event organized by Kenney Palkow, was held in Tombstone, Arizona, on July 29–30, 2023, with an estimated 10,000 attendees, including fourteen cast members from the series. Tombstone was decorated to resemble the in-game Blackwater. The event returned the following year as Black Hills Redemption, held in Deadwood, South Dakota, on June 21–23, with twenty actors present as guests.
In July 2021, a study by the University of Exeter and Truro and Penwith College found that players of Red Dead Redemption 2 had a better understanding of ecology and animal behavior; players could identify three more animals on average than other gamers. In late 2021, University of Tennessee professor Tore Olsson started teaching a class called “Red Dead America,” which covered United States history in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including the frontier myth, Jim Crow laws, settler colonialism, and women’s suffrage. Olsson noted that the class attracted more students than other history courses. He published a book titled Red Dead’s History in August 2024; the audiobook is narrated by Roger Clark, who portrayed Arthur.