8 Things Rockstar Games NEED Right Now

6. Genuine Investment In Red Dead Online

Red Dead Online Frontier Pursuits
Rockstar

Back when it was first announced, fans had big hopes for Red Dead Online. For all the micro-transactions and griefers present in GTA Online, the mode was still enjoyed by countless fans and it enjoyed numerous updates during its peak. Apply a similar approach to the more immersive and ambitious Red Dead Redemption 2, and it should've been a match made in heaven.

Sadly, the story since the rollout of Red Dead Online has been anything but rosy. Granted GTA V's multiplayer took a while to get going too, but it's now been over a year and a half since Red Dead Redemption 2 opened its grassy plains to the world, and it's still performing way below expectations. Bugs are numerous, the world doesn't feel half as lively as it does in single-player, and the updates - barring the introduction of Frontier Pursuits last September - have all been underwhelming.

But that doesn't mean the mode lacks potential - in fact it's quite the opposite. Red Dead Online is primed to deliver an authentic and immersive role-playing experience in the Wild West, but it's being held back by a lack of investment from Rockstar themselves.

All Red Dead players have to make due with each week are different bonuses and discounts for content already in the game. GTA, meanwhile, continues to reap the benefits of an active and financially-invested player-base, with new content being delivered near enough every week...

Advertisement
Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.