— A Rockstar Tale —
Red Dead
Redemption II
— Chapter One —
The Legend Begins
Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age. Developed and published by Rockstar Games, it is the third entry in the Red Dead series and a sweeping prequel to the 2010 original.
Following the Van der Linde gang as they flee across the rugged heartland of America after a robbery gone wrong, the game weaves a slow-burning, character-driven saga of loyalty, violence, and the death of the outlaw way of life.
Released
Oct 26 2018
Developer
Rockstar Studios
Publisher
Rockstar Games
Director
Dan Houser
Engine
RAGE
Setting
1899 America
— Chapter Two —
The Price of a Masterpiece
8 Years
In Development
Production began shortly after RDR (2010).
540M+ USD
Estimated Budget
Among the costliest games ever made.
2000+
Developers
Across every Rockstar studio worldwide.
500000
Animations
Hand-crafted for unmatched realism.
300000+
Lines of Dialogue
Recorded by 700 voice actors.
725M USD
Opening Weekend
The biggest entertainment launch in history.
"We were trying to make a game that pushed everything forward. Narrative, mechanics, world detail. Eight years of obsession poured into one frontier."
— Rockstar Studios
— The Outlaw —
Arthur Morgan
Spoiler-Free · A Man of His Word
Arthur Morgan rides as the Van der Linde gang most trusted associate, an enforcer raised on the trail by Dutch himself. He is gruff and brutal one moment; quiet and tender the next. A man who keeps a journal. A man who sketches the horses he steals.
You are not given a hero. You are given a man, and asked what kind of man he ought to be.
The Honor system lets you choose. Walk the high road, tip your hat to strangers, spare your enemies and feed the hungry. Or ride the low, rob, intimidate and burn. Both paths reshape how the world greets you on the road.
Most who finish the saga walk it with High Honor. Not because the game pushes them there. Rather, the longer you ride beside Arthur, the more you understand the quiet decency buried under all that dust and gunpowder. High Honor is who he is when no one is looking.
“Arthur Morgan. Van der Linde most trusted associate. Loyal to a fault. Dangerous to a fault.”
“We are thieves in a world that don want us no more.”
“You are a good man Arthur. Don let nobody tell you different.”
“I gave you all I had. I did. I tried. In the end... I did.”
“Some folk you ride with. Some folk you bury. Some folk do both.”
“Be loyal to what matters.”
Saddle up. Ride slow. Listen to the campfire. By the end of this trail you will not have played a game. You will have lived a life beside a man you will not soon forget.
— Chapter One —
Colter
Grizzlies West · The Wild Heartlands · Winter, 1899
After a ferry robbery in Blackwater goes badly wrong, the Van der Linde gang flees north into the mountains with the law not far behind. A blizzard catches them on the way up.
They take shelter in Colter, an abandoned mining town buried in snow high in the Grizzlies. It is cold, half-collapsed and miles from anywhere, but for now it keeps them out of sight.
Where
Colter Grizzlies West
When
Winter 1899
Climate
Blizzard Whiteout
Mood
Hunted Starving
Camp
Abandoned Mining Town
Stakes
Survive The Night
The Folk You Ride With
Dutch van der Linde leads the gang. He is well read and full of plans about getting everyone somewhere safe and free like Tahiti. Hosea Matthews is his oldest friend, a conman who has been at his side since the start.
John Marston is one of Dutch's first picks ups, a well known outlaw by us all who goes missing in the storm and turns up wounded by wolves. Sadie Adler is found in a burning cabin nearby. A rancher's widow whose home and husband were taken by the O'Driscoll gang.
The O'Driscolls are the other big threat up in the mountains. Led by Colm O'Driscoll, an old rival enemy of Dutch's, they have a camp hidden in the same mountains and a long running feud with the Van der Linde boys, this is what kicks off most of what happens in Colter.
What Happens Up There
A Hunt In The Snow
Arthur and Charles head out to track game so the gang has something to eat. A simple introduction to hunting and the snow-bound world around the camp.
A Stranger In The Storm
A burning homestead leads to Sadie Adler, the only survivor of an O'Driscoll attack on a nearby ranch. She is brought back to camp with nothing left to her name.
Outlaws From Outlaws
Word reaches the gang that an O'Driscoll camp is hidden close by. They strike first, and learn the O'Driscolls are planning to rob a train belonging to the magnate Leviticus Cornwall.
The Train
The Van der Linde gang hits the train before the O'Driscolls can. A loud, messy job that makes them a powerful new enemy in Cornwall.
Down From The Mountain
The snow finally clears. The gang packs up and rides east toward warmer country and a small town called Valentine, where Chapter Two begins.
"We just need a few more days and we are gone. Out of the country. Tahiti. Somewhere warm."
— Dutch van der Linde