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‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ app leaks details on ‘Red Dead Online,’ Rockstar Editor

The Red Dead Redemption 2 companion app is more than just a valuable tool for gamers —  it also has leaked details about the highly anticipated Red Dead Online and the pending arrival of the Rockstar Editor.

Dataminers who dived into the companion app’s code discovered several interesting tidbits about Red Dead Online, according to a report by Rockstar Intel. Red Dead Online, which will be Red Dead Redemption 2‘s version of Grand Theft Auto V‘s Grand Theft Auto Online component, is set to launch a public beta in November. It will be playable both alone or as part of a party, and is expected to bring back features from Red Dead Redemption‘s multiplayer mode.

The Red Dead Redemption 2 companion app’s code suggests that Red Dead Online will feature adversary modes. In GTA Online, adversary modes are competitive player-versus-player challenges, usually in groups, though it remains to be seen whether they will work the same way in Red Dead Online.

Red Dead Online will also apparently feature private sessions and “seamless PvE,” which sounds interesting. However, it also remains to be seen how Rockstar Games will implement these features in Red Dead Online.

In addition to Red Dead Online details, dataminers discovered that the Rockstar Editor will be made available to all Red Dead Redemption 2 players in the near future. The feature, which is also available in Grand Theft Auto V, will allow gamers to record, edit, and share videos in both single-player mode and Red Dead Online.

The Rockstar Editor is a highly requested feature for Red Dead Redemption 2. But since it is built into the Rage engine that Rockstar Games uses, its addition was a matter of when, not if.

Red Dead Redemption 2, which we described as the best open-world game of all time, is now available for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game’s companion app, in addition to providing leaks through its code, offers players a built-in map, as well as access to store catalogs, Arthur Morgan’s journal, and player profiles.

For players who are just starting out with the game, especially for those who are new to the series, check out our Red Dead Redemption 2 beginner’s guide.

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Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
Dead Island 2’s Amazon Alexa voice commands are novel, but limited
Dani lights a cigarette as zombies attack her from behind in Dead Island 2 key art.

I’ve always found myself interested in new technologies that could possibly enhance how we play or experience games. Whether it’s a computing innovation like cloud gaming or new controller features like the DualSense’s Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers, I love testing those things out. That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to try Alexa Game Control during my recent hands-on preview experience with Dead Island 2.
When Dambuster Studios and Deep Silver’s Dead Island 2 finally launches on April 21, it will be the first game to support Alexa Game Control. By connecting one’s Amazon account to the game, players can use the voice-recognition capabilities of Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa to perform in-game actions like taunting zombies or equipping their best weapons. I was curious to see just how deep this went, but after some hands-on time, this first implementation of it proved to be little more than a novelty.

Hey, Alexa
Dead Island 2 players can toggle Alexa Game Control on when they first show up in Bel-Air after the game’s opening. It has a dedicated tab in the Options Menu where players can choose to enable or disable it, choose whether they want it to work automatically or with push to talk, set the voice capture threshold, and decide which microphone they wish to use.
After enabling Alexa Game Control, I immediately noticed a ring at the bottom-left corner of the screen. When I spoke, this lit up with blue and teal colors, like the top ring on an Alexa device, and text confirming whether it could do the action or not would appear. Not having to say “Hey, Alexa” also means it implemented itself into the game smoothly. At first, I tried to see if voice commands would work for basic things like walking, jumping, and dodging, to no avail. After this, I hopped to a save I had placed later in the game and opened its tutorial menu to see what Alexa Game Control could really do.
Reading its tutorials and lists of commands, the limits of Alexa Game Control became clear. It mainly provides quick shortcuts to save you a button press or two in the middle of playing. In Dead Island 2, Alexa Game Control has four main uses: setting waypoints, taunting enemies, triggering emotes, and switching weapons. The tutorial menus give a complete list of commands that work, although each wildly varies in its usefulness.
Oi, zombie!
The funniest use of this voice technology in Dead Island 2 is taunting zombies. Shouting something like “Hey, dude” or “Oi, zombie” to get the attention of enemies that hadn’t detected me always made me chuckle. It’s also occasionally useful; at one point, I got a bunch of zombies to walk into a large pool of acid and die after taunting them. While it takes the same amount of time as walking up to the zombie to get their attention, I see the potential in voice technology that lets you interact with the world like this.

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Dead Island 2: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
soak sunshine slaughter first dead island 2 gameplay screenshot 3

Believe it or not, Dead Island 2 is not only still real, but it's actually coming out. For those who've been following the troubled trajectory this title has had, you know this is a story almost 10 years in the making. Originally revealed in 2014, Dead Island 2 has died and been resurrected no less than twice, with a new development team taking up the project each time. The average person probably assumed the game was scrapped years ago, but for those who never gave up hope, your faith has been rewarded.

Leaks did take some of the excitement out of Dead Island 2's big re-reveal during Gamescom 2022, but it couldn't stifle what looks to be a game far better than its beleaguered history would lead you to believe. Since so much has changed over the course of development, let alone with the entire gaming landscape, plenty of people may be wondering what all the excitement over this zombie game is all about. Grab yourself a blunt object and get ready to smash some zombie skulls as we run through everything we know about Dead Island 2.
Release date

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How to pre-order Dead Island 2: retailers, editions, and bonuses
Dead Island 2.

Some of us out there have been waiting on Dead Island 2 since 2014, when it was first revealed with a cinematic trailer. Little did we know at the time that the game would not only be delayed but that the original developers would leave the project. And then, the second team picking up where they left off would also be removed, and the game would finally land with its final team at Dambuster Studios. There are few games that can survive this long of a development cycle, and even fewer that can somehow still make it to market after passing hands so many times, and yet Dead Island 2 refuses to die.

With its re-reveal at Gamescom 2022, Dead Island 2 was quick to slap a solid release date of February 3, 2023, on the game to build some goodwill and trust among fans who have been waiting for close to a decade already. Not long after, pre-orders were launched, further cementing the fact that, yes, this game is actually coming out. Whether you've been waiting since 2014 or are just hearing about the franchise now, here are all the details on how to pre-order Dead Island 2 and what each edition comes with.

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