Red Dead Online’s Microtransactions Are Live Now

Last week, Rockstar rolled out Red Dead Online‘s first update, which focused on addressing a pervading concern about the game’s economy. Now, the company has unveiled the last piece of Red Dead Online‘s economic puzzle, launching an in-game store that makes it possible for players to exchange real-world money for many of the game’s items.

More accurately, Red Dead Online‘s store allows players to purchase gold bars, which can be used to acquire in-game weapons, clothing, horses, and more. The current exchange rate for this virtual currency is approximately $10 for 25 gold bars, with discounts extended to players that are willing to buy in larger quantities.

While many of the game’s items can be purchased with in-game money, a currency that can only be acquired by playing Red Dead Online, there are plenty of desirable items that require gold bars. For example, one of the game’s best purchasable horses, the Black Arabian, can only be bought with gold bars, and it costs 42 of them.

It is important to note that gold bars can be acquired simply by playing the game. However, the process is exceptionally slow, with some reports indicating that it takes approximately seven to eight hours to obtain a single gold bar.

For clarity, players that want the aforementioned Black Arabian Horse will either need to grind for around 300 hours or purchase 55 gold bars (for $20) through the store. 

Additionally, the items that can be purchased with Red Dead Online‘s money can often be bought with gold bars as well. This means that players that are willing to use the newly launched store will be able to acquire items much more rapidly than those that are not. How this will affect the overall gameplay experience remains to be seen.

With last week’s economy update, Rockstar gifted Red Dead Online‘s beta players 15 gold bars, and another 15 bar gift is being issued along with the launch of the store. This constitutes approximately $12 in the virtual currency, and while it is generous to offer this freely, some players may feel that it is just a drop in the bucket in the face of the sheer volume of microtransactions the game currently encourages.

Further details on the update that is introducing the store are available on Rockstar’s blog.