How to Play Red Dead Online

How to Start Red Dead Online

Over a month after Red Dead Redemption 2‘s single-player campaign became available to the masses, Red Dead Online has finally arrived. Promising a sprawling world teeming with missions and activities for players to take on either on their own or with friends, Red Dead Online has the potential to keep that Red Dead Redemption 2 disc spinning in your disc tray for months on end. Here’s what you need to know to start Red Dead Online.

First things first, it’s important to note that, depending on what version of Red Dead Redemption 2 you picked up, and when you started playing the game, you might not be able to hop into Red Dead Online as of today. That’s right, even though it kicks off today in beta form, Rockstar is staggering access in an attempt to prevent serious server hitches and crashes.

We’ve included these details for you down below:

• Tuesday, November 27: All Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition owners.
• Wednesday, November 28: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26 according to our data.
• Thursday, November 29: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 between October 26 to October 29th according to our data.
• Friday, November 30: All players who own Red Dead Redemption 2.

Now that you’re able to figure out which of the days this week you’ll be able to hop into Red Dead Online, let’s take a quick look at what you’ll need to do to enter the sprawling open-world multiplayer component of one of 2018’s big Game of the Year contenders.

Start off by loading up Red Dead Redemption 2. When you reach the title screen requiring you to select whether you want to play Story mode, access Social Club or switch account, you should now see the ability to tab between Story and Online in the top right corner. Use LB and RB on Xbox One or L1 and R1 on PS4 to tab between the two options, then press A or X to load it up.

If it’s your first time hopping into the experience, and chances are it is if you’re reading this post, you’ll need to first complete a quick Red Dead Online tutorial. It’s nothing too taxing or that you haven’t already experienced at some point in the single-player component of the game, but you will need to clear this before you’re free to do as you wish in the open-world.

That’s all you need to know to start Red Dead Online. For more tips, tricks, and guides on Red Dead Redemption 2 and its online component, be sure to check out our ever-expanding Red Dead Redemption 2 guide wiki.