When Red Dead Redemption 2 was first announced, I was so happy because even though I never got to experience the first one this was going to give me a chance to try out something very similar and possibly even better. When Red Dead Online was announced, I almost lost my mind. The thought of getting to ride around on horses with my friends, robbing people, hunting animals and doing everything the story mode had to offer was very exciting for me.

Once we finally got access to the open beta I spent a good day and a half playing it and something that I noticed very quickly is that it was very difficult to make money. Different PVP modes and stranger jobs just weren’t paying out enough money, you don’t get treasure maps enough, and there are only so many missions you can do before you inevitably run out. While these missions do pay a very decent amount, when you factor in the prices for other in game items such as food, weapons, and horse care you are practically left with nothing very quickly. Hunting animals makes you a decent amount of money but once again it just wasn’t enough and the Red Dead Online community was very vocal about this almost instantly. Rockstar Games needed to make some sort of change in both the payout for jobs and also the overall economy.

Late last year over the course of a couple days Rockstar announced that they had FINALLY updated the way money would work in Red Dead Online and it has definitely pleased the majority of fans. They made it to where you can replay past missions and actually receive decent pay from them, certain items that were outrageously overpriced have been reduced (If you purchased any of these items before their price dropped you will receive somewhat of a refund), and for players who played from November 27th to December 6th of last year, they will be very glad to hear that they’ll be receiving $250 and 15 Gold Bars for free.

When Rockstar announced these changes, I almost instantly got on and these changes were made very clear to me as when I did a mission that would normally only pay out about $30-$45, I was now given $50-$70. While story missions do happen to pay more than side jobs, it’s still a very drastic change to my character’s wallet.

This one change is a very good sign as it shows that Rockstar is listening to their fans and intend on making other much needed changes. In my opinion, this is the key to having a successful game cycle and as long as they continue doing this, Red Dead Online shouldn’t have anything to worry about with longevity.