A player online has discovered that Red Dead Redemption 2 blocks attempts from players to pay tribute to a mount from Elden Ring. Customizing and forming an attachment to horses is an essential element of Red Dead Redemption 2, and it’s possible that this particular application of the profanity filter is slightly too strict.
Upon its release in 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 became an instant hit among players, with its attention to detail in its vast rendition of the old West still unrivaled to this day. It has since become revered as one of the greatest stories ever told in a video game, and to this day there are gamers out there discovering Arthur Morgan’s story for the first time.
The discovery was made by Redditor -Phortran, who was blocked by Red Dead Redemption 2 from naming their horse “Torrent,” as a tribute to the Elden Ring mount. As Red Dead Redemption 2 came out years before Elden Ring, it’s likely that this is an attempt to block the word in the context of piracy. Red Dead Redemption 2 is known for its strict profanity filter, as are other Rockstar games, which is certainly ironic given much of the content featured in the games themselves.
Players in the thread took the opportunity to share many of the other strange names they’d found blocked in Red Dead Redemption 2. The most surprising of all was that “Sarah J Parker” is a blocked name, after a notable Family Guy episode criticized her appearance. Many were frustrated that the profanity filter also applies to Story Mode in Red Dead Redemption 2, rather than just online. While it’s possible that Rockstar could give more leeway in Story Mode with some of the more unique words found in the filter, for example “Torrent,” it’s understandable in the age of online video and streaming why the developer would want to ban slurs of any kind from appearing either in Story Mode or Red Dead Online.
The future of the Red Dead Redemption franchise is currently unclear. Red Dead Redemption 2 was a massive financial success for Rockstar, but the studio remains focused on releasing GTA 6 within the next few years. The company have been alternating between the two franchises since 2008’s GTA 4 and 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, and with the success of the sequel, it would make sense to begin work on Red Dead Redemption 3. However, Red Dead Online wasn’t the smash hit expected of it, especially when compared to GTA Online, so it has been mostly abandoned in terms of frequent new content. Still, with so many copies sold of Red Dead Redemption 2, that’s potential money that Rockstar likely won’t want to leave on the table.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.