Like the Wild West world it depicted, Red Dead Redemption 2’s time on Xbox Game Pass is coming to a sudden, ignominious end. Despite just joining the service in May, Red Dead Redemption 2 will become unavailable on September 7.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s departure follows a similar path as Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V, which joined Xbox Game Pass in January and stayed on the service for four months.
A prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, this 2018 open-world fringed jacket simulator puts players in the shoes of Arthur Morgan. Arthur, an outlaw with a devastatingly chiseled jawline, runs with Dutch Van der Linde, a character from the first game. John Marston, the protagonist of that game, also plays a major role. (He’s kind of a chucklehead in this one.) Red Dead Redemption 2 opens up with their gang on the run after a heist gone wrong.
Red Dead Redemption 2 largely follows that patented Rockstar gameplay formula, in that it’s a third-person action set in an unpredictable, actively hostile open world. It’s also massive. Anecdotally, it’d take more than 100 hours to explore every nook and cranny from Saint Denis to Blackwater. A dedicated player could tackle that in the time Red Dead Redemption 2 has been on Game Pass. Someone who dips in casually, a few hours a week here and there? Probably not.
So consider this a PSA: If you still have a few quests left in the game, wrap them up now. If you’re one of the four people who missed Red Dead Redemption 2 the first time around, now’s your chance. You’d best get the download soon, too: Red Dead Redemption 2 clocks in at around 90 GB.
On the plus side, Xbox has added plenty of games to the Game Pass lineup, including the original Final Fantasy VII. Just yesterday, the terrific Spiritfarer, a “cozy management game about dying,” joined the service. And those who have the Xbox Game Pass for PC beta app are now able to play Microsoft Flight Simulator.