Red Dead Redemption 2 play online

Connecting to Rockstar's multiplayer sandbox

How do you play Red Dead Online? Red Dead Online is the online component of Red Dead Redemption 2, allowing you to engage in multiplayer free roaming as well as a selection of PvP matches. As part of our Red Dead Online guide, we're going to run down how you get into RDR2's online mode.

Red Dead Online: How to Play RDR2 Online

To play Red Dead Online, boot up your Red Dead Redemption 2 game as normal. You'll be met with an information screen, with the option to skip in the bottom right. Press X to continue to the main menu.

You'll now see that you can select either Story (the regular, offline game) or Online by pressing L1 or R1. Highlight Online and press X to initiate Red Dead Online.

It's worth noting that you need to play through a mandatory few missions when you begin playing online. After you've created your character, set up your first camp, and acquired your first horse from the mission Honor Among Horse Thieves, you'll have access to all that Red Dead Online has to offer.

While in Free Roam, pressing left on the d-pad will bring up a menu. From here, select Quick Join to join a variety of different competitive missions and events. Alternatively, if you pause the game and select Online, you can select from all the various ways to play in a more comprehensive menu screen.

Have you played much RDR2 Online yet? Take a look at our Red Dead Online guide, and let us know in the comments section below.