In response to a wave of reports from players that Update 1.21 has inserted numerous game-breaking bugs into Red Dead Online, Rockstar Games created a Support page specifically to address the very long list of Red Dead Online glitches players observed.
A game update does carry some amount of risk, though usually that risk is far outweighed by the reward of new features. Players can handle texture glitches or weapons getting nerfed in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in exchange for new quests or new items, but the laundry list of glitches have found in Red Dead Online range from problematic to game-breaking. On its Support site, Rockstar said, “We are currently developing fixes to address these and will share more information as it is available.”
In times like these where people are starting to turn to video games for the bulk of their entertainment, being suddenly unable to play a favorite title can be especially upsetting. Right now the glitches appear in ways that make the game unplayable, especially on the PS4.
Some are speculating that Red Dead Online’s Naturalist Update is behind the majority of the issues, though that is difficult to prove since Update 1.20 went off relatively smoothly. Update 1.21 may have been intended as a bug fix, and would have passed largely unnoticed by the majority of the gaming community if not for the new glitches coming to light.
Aside from fans noting that horses in Red Dead Online suddenly seemed a lot dumber, it wasn’t until yesterday’s Update 1.21 that players really started to notice problems with the game. Affected players are unable to talk to NPCs, unable to set up or fast travel to their camp, unable to use the Moonshine Shack, and unable to interact with or damage NPCs including animals. This makes very basic in-game experiences like completing quests impossible.
Players are arguing that RockStar Games should have performed an immediate rollback of Update 1.21, the same way Destiny 2 rolled back its servers when a glitch repeatedly deleted players’ cash. Supposedly this would be a fairly simple fix, but considering Red Dead Online is available on multiple platforms with cross-play, that means there are at least four different sets of protocols that need to be followed to make that happen. Rockstar Games, for whatever reason, may simply be unable to issue a rollback cleanly across all three platforms, plus its own servers, at this time.
Whatever Rockstar Games is doing, it needs to address the players’ concerns with humility and grace, lest it risk losing their interest. This is one of those situations where too little communication with the fan base can be especially problematic. Hopefully the developers are hard at work on Update 1.22.
Red Dead Online is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox.
