Does Red Dead Redemption 2 need single-player DLC?

Easily one of the biggest games of 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 is still providing plenty of fodder for news and opinions months after its release.

There are many good reasons for this, chief among them being the game’s overarching quality and engaging narrative. But one meta-story that is playing out in the background involves RDR2’s developer more than it does the game itself.

Will Rockstar take GTA V approach?

And that plot involves the question of whether or not Rockstar is going to give their latest masterpiece the Grand Theft Auto V treatment, or provide it with a stream of high-quality, single-player downloadable content like the dev used to do for its games in the past.

This is because GTA V, while printing money for Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar, has had no single-player DLC since its release in 2013. Yet it is the most profitable media property of all time, all industries included. A fact like this would normally be more than enough reason to launch a solid argument as to why RDR2 doesn’t need single-player DLC to make a ton of money.

Still, the success of this approach relies upon RDR2’s online mode taking off like GTA V’s did. Because, let’s be clear, the online game for GTA V started off slowly but is a true behemoth now. The company has also not hesitated to keep the GTA V online game filled with new content and stuff to do. Given its slow start, it is quite remarkable that this mode, combined with the game’s overall quality, has helped keep it relevant and profitable so many years after release.

RDR2’s online mode off to slow start

Similarly, RDR2’s online mode isn’t quite catching on with people but this is similar to the trajectory for GTA V; however, there is a huge difference between 2013 and 2019. Back then, people didn’t have as many options and, as we know too well with World of Warcraft’s continued success, established player bases are the bread and butter of any online game. GTA Online’s early adopters are likely still with the game and, given the difficulty curve of entering that mode now, we can surmise they still dominate a lot of the player base for the online content.

This slack gave Rockstar time to hone GTA Online’s gameplay and mechanics. But they’re not going to have this luxury with RDR2’s online mode because there are other, highly compelling options on the market. If the online mode fails to launch in the beginning, it is theorized, it could fail to ever take off. Thus the question becomes: How does Rockstar keep RDR 2 relevant?

RDR2 will thrive with single-player DLC

One of the best ways we can think of is for the developer to push some compelling single-player and multiplayer content out for the game. This two-pronged approach can lure in people who loved the single-player game and keep the online mode fresh at the same time.

So, does Red Dead Redemption 2 need single-player DLC to thrive? The answer has to be “Yes,” especially if they want to get the online mode to a state comparable to GTA Online.