'Red Dead Redemption 2' Video Shows How the Game Changes Over Time

Spoiler warning: The video above may contain spoilers for different settings and story events in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Red Dead Redemption 2's vast world changes as players spend time in it, and a new video shows these changes in action with a time-lapse of the before and after scenery.

Uploaded to the DefendTheHouse YouTube channel, the video above shows how the game's world changes over time without any action needed from the players themselves. Players may have already noticed that in the many different towns and settlements within Red Dead Redemption 2, there are locations that have work-in-progress structures, some of these amounting to not much more than a foundation and the shell of a building at times. But the NPCs working on these houses and railroad tracks don't work on them in perpetuity though, and they'll eventually finish the projects with fully-constructed buildings able to be seen by players.

One of the first examples of such a project can be seen in Valentine, the first main settlement that players are free to explore. Two different buildings are being put together in that town and are both shown in the video, one of them to the left of the general store and the other wedged between the saloon and the doctor's establishment. Given long enough, the first building is eventually turned into "Valentine Restaurant" while the second becomes what appears to be another place for visitors to stay judging from the "Keane's Rooms for Rent" sign.

The changes over time aren't always about construction though as some areas well also be deconstructed to make way for other structures and projects. In certain areas of the game, particularly around timber companies, players will notice tree stumps where trees had been chopped down. Over time, areas such as the Appleseed Timber Co. will eventually have far fewer trees with many of the flora cleared away to make room for cabins, railroad tracks, or just to clear out the land for the resources.

Then there's also Arthur's beard, though that's one feature that changes over time which players are likely already familiar with. Arthur's beard and hair will grow on their own if players leave them unattended and don't visit a barber to get a trim or a full cut, but a special tonic is needed at a certain point to make sure the hair keeps on growing.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is now available for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.