Rockstar Games is once again celebrating Halloween in Red Dead Online, with the Halloween Pass 2 and triple rewards being returned for All Hallows’ Call to Arms mode. However, the statement has been received far from celebratory: thousands of furious players are claiming that the western multiplayer game has only garnered lip service from the developers.
The official Rockstar tweet promised the return of seasonal spooky content, along with Halloween rewards and bonuses. That executed well enough for a small-scale live service. But for the Red Dead staunch ranks? It was something very different. And honestly, I do believe some of those points are valid.
One disgruntled player named Lucas expressed his position very plainly: “Another year gone by, the great RDO remains abandoned. We’re going into the fifth consecutive year with the same Halloween pass… The one with a lot of potential thrown in the trash.” That is not just a little bit disappointed. That is an anguished cry from an engaged community that feels truly abandoned.
Oh. What was I saying? Right, Halloween stuff. As confirmed by Rockstar, there will again be the spooky-type seasonal content featuring Halloween Pass 2, which originally debuted in 2021. Players can purchase some Halloween-themed cosmetics and items, with 3X rewards to the All Hallows’ Call to Arms mode in which waves of enemies are fought. Um… Okay? But as soon as you realize it is basically three-year-old content that is being recycled, it starts feeling less like a treat and more like an insult.
The replies made in response to Rockstar’s announcements are absolutely brutal. Denzel Sanchez puts into words exactly what the mood is: “Anything but actual content updates lmao.” And he is certainly not wrong – for years, players have been begging for strong new content for Red Dead Online; instead, they get the recycled Halloween events. It’s like asking for a new car and being given the decorations from Christmas halfway around the world.
What is strange, even, though, is how immediately people just started bringing other things up. Multiple comments then started demanding a PS5 version of Red Dead Redemption 2; one just stated, “PS5 version please,” while another added, “Waiting RDR 2 PS5 version and GTA VI trailer.” It’s as if the Halloween announcement suddenly reminded everyone of what they really want from Rockstar.
Some confusion runs even through the comments, with one user named Jimmy wondering “Wait I thought Red Dead Online shut down?!?” which says a lot about the recent visibility of Red Dead Online. If the players aren’t even sure about your game’s current status, that’s probably not a good sign for the state of player engagement.
Frustration runs too deep instead. Joseleeefcb says it all: “pls stop with the online things nobody gives a fuck.” And Console Gamer followed: “Rockstar’s getting cooked. Just announced it already damn it.” The “it” that they’re referring to is, of course, the long-rumored PS5 upgrade or new content players actually want.
What’s crazy is that this is not just a handful of angry comments; the sentiment is almost universal across all replies. Even the ones that are positive focus more on hoping for future announcements than celebrating the current Halloween content. With Ali Jumaan’s “Well i give up 😣” feeling like the final straw for many longtime Red Dead Online players.
In the middle of the growing rage though, a little laughter erupts: Joexter shared a meme showing a confused person, captioned, “Rockstar when trying to figure out what people mean when they say they want rdr2 60fps.” That’s just one neat juxtaposition of frustration and comedy that gaming communities do perfectly.
Where the real tragedy lies is the fact that Red Dead Online had tons of potential with a beautiful world, satisfying gameplay, and detailed attention that Rockstar is so famous for. The tragedy is that instead of building on that base, they’ve just been occasionally dusting it off and putting up the same Halloween decorations year after year.
Meanwhile, the celebrations keep on, fueled by the online versus console arguments. One user validated, “pc is superior and even cheaper than ps5 in everyway,” while another one shot back, “Fuck u fà ggot brokie.” Those are a few that’s just not going to change in gaming communities even if actual game content does.
So where does this take Red Dead Online now? The Halloween event should cast a small bump in player numbers from folks checking out triple rewards, but with all of the bad reception, this recycled content will not even keep them coming back for long. The community asked for some serious update, next-gen upgrades, or anything at all that speaks about the future of this game.
The takeaway here is very simple: players want more than just seasonal reruns. They want the attention and support that gta online gets, or at least some sign that red dead online hasn’t been killed off entirely. Until then, these holiday events will just be reminders of what could have been rather than celebrations of what is.
Really a shame, I suppose. If backed up, Red Dead Online could have been something special. Instead, it will be turning into a game that you nostalgically remember but don’t even play anymore, with infrequent holiday events that make one chuckle and say, “Oh, that’s still a thing” and then slip back into oblivion. Certainly, Rockstar must have a bigger plan; otherwise, current marketing strategies are clearly not working for their player base.
