Summary
The Steam Awards are an annual celebration of games that are voted on by fans, rather than a panel of judges. During the 2023 voting period, players nominated their picks for eleven different categories. Because any game could be nominated, there were some surprising titles among the winners.Red Dead Redemption 2, for instance, won the Labor of Love category, an award meant to celebrate the ongoing support provided by developers long after the debut of a game. This win seems to be a dig at the lack of support and attention given toRed Dead Onlinerather than a compliment.
Red Dead Onlinehasn’t had a major update since December 2021. In July 2022, Rockstar announced that it would no longer be pushing major updates to the game, instead occasionally releasing holiday-related content. Players have since expressed disappointment over the lack of support for the game, especially when compared toGrand Theft Auto Online. Considering all this, it becomes plausible thatRed Dead Redemption 2’s Labor of Love win is the result of trolling voters rather than a genuine belief that it had earned the award. This might be a message that Rockstar should keep in mind when it gets around to producingRed Dead Redemption 3.
The Labor of Love award is given specifically to games that are still nurtured by its developers with frequent updates and new content, even “after all these years.” Through posts online, Twitter hashtags, and now this award,Red Dead Onlineplayers have made their frustration over Rockstar’s treatment of the online service clear. At the moment, Rockstar has its hands full with theupcoming release ofGrand Theft Auto 6, but that doesn’t take a possible follow up to the highly successfulRed Dead Redemption 2off the table. The best way to acknowledge this Labor of Love award and the voices of fans would perhaps be to create a much more robust and long-lived version ofRed Dead Onlinein a future title.
Rockstar could truly earn the Labor of Love award ifRed Dead Onlinewas given as much attention and effort asGrand Theft Auto Onlinehas enjoyed. The wild west has plenty of opportunities for more missions, new characters, and new opportunities to play with friends. The initial updates toRed Dead Online, such as the new Specialist Role ofMoonshiner, were lauded as excellent additions to the game. If Rockstar had continued to add content like new Frontier Pursuits over the last few years, then the developers may have genuinely deserved the Labor of Love award.
The Specialist Roles inRed Dead Onlineserved as classes in the game. The online mode started with two, the Moonshiner andNaturalistroles coming with later updates. A simple way to revive and maintain new content forRed Dead Onlinewould be through new Specialist Roles. Since the release of the game, players have wanted to emulate John Marston inRed Dead Redemption 2’s post-game content and become a rancher or ranch hand. Rather than running around the open world, some players are interested in settling down, purchasing property, and building a farm of their own. A Rancher or Farmer role would be one way that developers could grant this wish.
There are plenty of opportunities for further classes to be added when it comes time to developthe nextRed Deadtitle.Red Dead Redemption 3could serve as a fresh start forRed Dead Onlinewith new Specialist Roles, new clothes and items, a way for players to purchase and manage property, and new missions. To earn the trust of previous players, perhaps the ones that ironically voted forRDR2in the Steam Awards, Rockstar needs to come out swinging with tons of content for a revampedRed Dead Online.
Anynew updates toRed Dead Onlinehave been largely technical, like a PC patch in January 2024. Fans have felt thatRed Dead Onlinecontent petered out because Rockstar, as a company, was more focused on developing the highly anticipatedGrand Theft Auto 6. This is whyRed Dead Onlineis said to “live in the shadow” ofGTA Online. After the release ofGrand Theft Auto 6, attention will once again turn to theRed Dead Redemptionseries. A possibleRed Dead Redemption 3will present Rockstar with the opportunity to try again with an online mode to the game.
Red Dead Redemption 2
WHERE TO PLAY
America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.
