Although Red Dead Redemption 2 is at the top of many game of the year lists and had a great night at The Game Awards, Rockstar's always online counterpart to the western doesn't have quite as flawless a reputation. Although many players are definitely enjoying Red Dead Online and spending tons of hours on the service, the game does have some issues and, as expected, microtransactions are one of those points of contention.

Most Red Dead Redemption 2 players already paid $60 for the core title, so the prospect of dropping additional real-world money in the game isn't very appealing. Of course there's a way to earn in-game currency through gameplay, but when you compare how long that takes to earn with many items are locked away in the store, it becomes a pretty intimidating task for players who want to own everything.

Gamers with tons of extra disposable income can obviously just drop a bunch of cash on the in-game gold and buy everything at once. The 'cheapest' way to do that is to buy $99 bundles of 350 gold. Shoppers would need to drop just under $600 for the 2,000+ gold it would take to purchase everything that is currently available in the game's store.

red dead online gold bars

Also keep in mind that the online service just launched and Rockstar will likely continue to add new items to the store over time with updates and special events. Most players probably don't feel the need to own every single item that is up for sale in the store, but it is still interesting to see how much content is locked away behind paywalls.

Red Dead Online is still in its infancy, so hopefully Rockstar will listen to player feedback and help cultivate a growing community that will keep the servers alive and active for at least a few years. We'll continue to monitor how the game grows and changes, so be sure to check back for updated and guides. Until then, good luck out there, cowboys.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PS4 and Xbox One.

Source: Forbes