Summary
It is no secret thatRed Dead Redemption 2was a groundbreaking experience for the gaming industry, with its attention to detail, gripping narrative, and stunning environments still impressing players over five years after it first released. This positive reception has led to the title winning many glamorous awards over the years. This year’s recent Steam Awards only added to the long list of accomplishments that the title has amassed.
Red Dead Redemption 2won the “Labor of Love” award at this year’s Steam Awards, which may seem sensible at face value, but becomes quite confusing when the parameters of the award are considered. The Labor of Love award is reserved for titles that have experienced consistent improvements and post-launch care, andRDR2’s shortcomings in this area make its winning of the award all the more strange.
Red Dead Redemption 2is already a critically acclaimed release, winning a spate of high-profile awards closer to its release including four Game Awards. Many fans think thatRDR2is more than deserving of the success it has achieved, but it is hard to regard its most recent Steam Award win as fully deserved.
In the official description of Steam’s Labor of Love award, it states howRed Dead Redemption 2still has a development team that continues “to nurture and support” the title with consistent post-launch content. Oddly, this is one aspect ofRed Dead Redemption 2that many fans feel has been massively lacking, with recentdevelopments forRead Dead Onlinebeing a great example of where these criticisms have come from.
There were high hopes behindRed Dead Redemption 2’s online component given thehuge success ofGrand Theft Auto Online, but these hopes were cut short in July 2022. Four years afterRed Dead Redemption 2’s release, Rockstar announced thatRed Dead Onlinewould not receive any major future updates, which was a serious blow to the game’s dedicated community.
To add to this,Red Dead Redemption 2’s single-player has not received any major DLC since release, disheartening fans who were expecting an expansion ofsimilar ambition toRed Dead Redemption’s Undead Nightmare DLC. This paints a picture that seems entirely different to the Labor of Love award’s requirements, leading to the confusion aroundRDR2’s Steam Awards win. In all, the following titles were nominees for Steam’s Labor of Love Award:
With the likes ofApex Legendsbeing live-service online-only titleswith continuous post-launch support, it seems almost unfair thatRed Dead Redemption 2has taken the top spot. It is worth noting that the voting for the Labor of Love award was entirely community-driven, perhaps making the award more of a popularity contest as opposed to a genuine reflection of post-launch care. WhileRDR2is more than deserving of recognition, its Labor of Love win in this year’s Steam Awards is understandably facing a lot of backlash due to the game’s slow post-launch life.
Red Dead Redemption 2
WHERE TO PLAY
America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.
