Red Dead Online Adds Zombies, AI Robots And More In Bizarre Strange Tales Update
The four new Telegram Missions—collectively forming the "Strange Tales" set—send players across the frontier chasing cryptids and conspiracies. One task involves collecting diseased corpses while dodging cultists, another has you destroy rogue robots in a Southern Gothic take on Frankenstein. Rounding out the batch are a swamp monster extraction mission and a survivalist horror jaunt in Tall Trees. All four are playable solo or with a posse, and award triple Gold, RDO$, and XP through August 4.
Additionally, Rockstar's being remarkably generous to conservationists with this update. Harriet Davenport's wildlife sample sales are worth triple RDO$ and XP through August 4th, and you can get triple XP on legendary animal sightings, too. Plus, Wildlife Photography will earn you double XP and double RDO$ for the duration, too.
The update feels suspiciously close to a soft relaunch, as Rockstar's also offering deep discounts—up to 50%—on a wide range of starter items, likely hoping to tempt lapsed players back to the fold. That said, veterans will still find the usual pain points intact, with weapon prices and gear costs in RDO$ remaining prohibitively high—perhaps "coincidentally" encouraging real-money microtransactions for Gold, which are also slightly discounted this month. Some things never change.
Still, the overall vibe is less "skeletal content drip" and more "late-stage Halloween event accidentally leaked in July," which is a huge step up for RDO. Whether this marks the start of renewed effort toward Red Dead Online from Rockstar, revitalized interest from the community, or just one last hurrah before the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI—now confirmed for May 2026—is anyone's guess. But for players who remember RDO's early promise, this is at least a sign of life. Or un-life. You can hit up Rockstar's PR for the full details on this surprise update for RDO.
