Red Dead Redemption 2 Fans Puzzled by New Steam Award

Red Dead Redemption 2 fans don't know if it deserves Steam's newest award.

By Cade Onder

Red Dead Redemption 2 has been awarded a new accolade by Steam, but fans don't know that it really deserves it. Rockstar Games produces some of the greatest games out there, but the studio is also known for really taking its time. During the 2000s, Rockstar was cranking games out on an annual basis. After Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games' output slowed down tremendously as it began to pour more and more effort and resources into its games. GTA Online took up a lot of resources, but Red Dead Redemption 2 also demanded a lot of attention. As a result, it would be the only new game Rockstar released during the PS4/Xbox One generation, but also possibly its best game to date.

Red Dead Redemption 2 has been showered in praise for the last five years and it deserves all of it. It has an incredible story, a rich open world, immersive gameplay, and is quite possible one of the most detailed and believable worlds in gaming. However, Red Dead Redemption 2 just earned an award from Steam that fans are raising an eyebrow at. Steam gave out a bunch of awards for the year of 2023, all of which were voted on by fans, and Red Dead Redemption 2 earned the "Labor of Love" award. Had this award been given out in 2018 or 2019 when it was released on PC, this would make sense. However, in 2023, fans are a bit confused. Red Dead Redemption 2 did see a big surge in Steam players in November and December thanks to it being on sale, so a lot of people are experiencing it for the first time now. The award's description, however, is where things get contentious among fans: 

"This game has been out for a while," reads the description. "The team is well past the debut of their creative baby, but being the good parents they are, these devs continue to nurture and support their creation. This game, to this day, is still getting new content after all these years."

Red Dead Redemption 2's online mode stopped receiving big content updates years ago with Rockstar Games officially confirming it would no longer have big content updates back in summer 2022. It had been a while since we got any notable new content updates before this news as well. The game does get playlist updates and some other really small additions semi-frequently, but it's hardly anything that is sending players flocking back to it. Especially compared to GTA Online which is ten years old and still getting huge updates, Red Dead Online wasn't allowed to meet its full potential due to the demanding development of Grand Theft Auto VI. As such fans are a bit confused.

0comments

Related:

Start the Conversation

of