Red Dead Online Faces Backlash Over In-Game Currency And Almighty Baked Beans

Red Dead Redemption 2 crushed records in its opening weekend setting a record for the highest earnings in entertainment industry history. The game raked $752 million into the coffers over at Rockstar, and that was before the online portion of the game even started. That online portion is called Red Dead Online and has been tipped to get its own battle royale mode called "Make it Count" supporting up to 32 players. The beta for Red Dead Online wrapped up yesterday and there have been some big complaints about the game from beta participants.

Beta participants say that the missions and multiplayer mode in the game payout limited amounts of in-game currency, while the purchasable items in the game, including upgrades and customization, cost considerable sums of money. Changing of the color on the player's starter pistol to all black costs 12 gold bars. That might not be such a problem if it weren't for the fact that it takes about eight hours of play in the game to earn a single gold bar according to reports.

Players who wanted to upgrade their rifle would need to grind out at least 16 hours of gameplay to earn the money required. If you want a fully optioned tent for your character, you will be spending weeks grinding for a payday as that decked-out tent sells for 112 gold bars. The online game offers insurance for your horse and at the start that insurance is cheap, but if you want insurance on another horse, it will cost you multiple gold bars with the exact number varying depending on the quality of the horse.

Players will eventually be able to buy gold bars for real money, which is precisely what all game developers who build games around earning money for upgrades want to happen. New weapons sell for large sums of cash in the game with a Mauser pistol costing $1,000. The game activities pay out only a few dollars at a time and according to some of the gamers, playing for six hours or more only earned them a few hundred dollars.

At least one player on Reddit complained that when you take on a mission, you often spend more money on bullets, food, and other necessities to complete the mission than you make. One of the more significant complaints on Reddit is the cost of baked beans, a necessity, at $1.50 per can, while a gold wedding ring sells for $1.15. Some players think the real money is in operating the bean cannery, not robbing banks. Some players are defending the game noting that at higher levels the earnings can be significantly better.

One poster on GTA Forums said that he raked in $300 in a single mission at level 12 allowing him to buy lots of gear and upgrades while still having cash left over. The player says that people need to gather more facts before they complain. Rockstar will certainly take comments and complaints from the beta and try to sort those things out before the game launches. The game economy could be vastly different after the beta, so we have to wait and see.