It is now up to the players how they want to spend the month of November. A new update has come from Rockstar Games on the Red Dead Online game, which is mainly a Thanksgiving-themed bounty in the wild west. Among the things that players can do, one of them is to sell Perfect Carcasses and get double the Trader materials, and for the whole month, they will also get double the usual earnings and experience in all the roles. The event has been quite beneficial to the community, especially the trading one, but the response from the community has not been that definitive.
So, the question is what the update has really brought. The answer is that if you are one of those players that do the Trader job, it is time to put in the bank all the materials and money. The trade-in of perfect deer carcasses or pristine pelts will get you twice the normal amount of materials for Cripps’ trading company. And when you do those big sales deliveries, you will get double the money and experience points. It is nothing less than cash flowing from the heavens for players who have been trading based on empire-building.
Now, here is where the twist is – mixed reactions from players. Some players are really excited about the chance. One of the players, Richard Clarke, tweeted “My favorite role. Will be grinding all month” showing there are still committed traders around for whom the bonuses will be a great opportunity.
However, other responses point to a growing discontent in the Red Dead Online community. A number of players have asked the question: what is the value of getting more money if there is nothing new to buy according to their understanding? User Lonetiger07 put it succinctly: “There’s no point in extra money when there’s nothing to spend it on….. A new business would be nice.” This sentiment is echoed in many comments, where players keep insisting on new content rather than just monetary incentives.
The announcement was made at a time that also created some confusion and disappointment. A few users admitted that when the tweet from Rockstar was first posted, they took it as news about GTA 6 or the release of a trailer. User ZoroUp3 even said “I thought it was the trailer 3 so sad” with a crying emoji as if to show the feeling of the Red Dead community that it sometimes gets overshadowed by Rockstar’s other projects.
The comments also came from the international player base, and some of them were in different languages, but they all had the same essence – new content. One user from the French-speaking community even said “Please put new content in this game” and the other one, who was writing in Arabic, asked “Okay, and the subject?” which indicates that there is uncertainty about what the update has brought in terms of benefits besides the temporary bonuses.
The divide in the community becomes clearer when you read the replies between players arguing. Some are upholding Rockstar’s decision to continue supporting Red Dead Online, while others are taking the floor more and more to express their dissatisfaction. One user who was very straightforward, Brave Heart, said: “You have done absolutely nothing for your fans for years, no sp dlc, no f all, just milk milk milk that old cow. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
There is still a small part of the player base that continues to find the seasonal events good despite the negative reactions. Newer players, or ones who have not reached the maximum in the Trader role, can get a significant increase in their progression through double rewards. And honestly, who wouldn’t want to be rewarded with free cash in a western simulator?
The never-ending debate brings forward more important questions about the future direction of Red Dead Online. While the game is kept alive by bonus events, a large portion of the long-time players still wish to see new content like roles, story missions, businesses, or expansions. The current commitment to rotating role bonuses feels less viable with the long-time players’ community demand for new content.
The most fascinating aspect of the announcement is that the situation around it has turned into a microcosm of the entire Red Dead Online experience. Enthusiastic traders ready to grind are present, frustrated veterans demanding more extensive updates are there too, and everybody is somewhere in between. The comments section is very similar to the wild west, where posse members turn against each other and real-time debates about the game’s future occur.
As November progresses, it will be interesting to observe if the double rewards will attract players back to the frontier or if the demand for more substantial content from the community will grow louder. For the time being, if you are still playing Red Dead Online, you should sign up for the double trader rewards while they are still available. Just do not expect the Thanksgiving bounty to be accompanied by the same level of enthusiasm from all players.
PlayStation and Xbox gamers have also been following similar gaming news recently.
