With the recent unveiling of Red Dead Redemption 2's various special editions a bunch of new information has also been revealed about the game.
However, without context, some of that new information was easy to misinterpret and the conditions of how some content will be present in the game is unclear.
Among the bonuses for purchasing the Special or Ultimate editions are a pair of missions accessible in the game's single player Story Mode. One is a bank robbery and the other is a Gang Hideout mission. Both of these sound like the kind of generic side-activities you'll find multiple of across the game's map in various regions.
However it's also possible to assume that these missions would contain story content or narrative details that are this way locked behind a paywall of sorts and some fans arrived to this conclusion. This led to many calling out Rockstar over social media, which in turn prompted the developers to clear things up.
On Twitter, Rockstar's official account has responded to a concerned fan's statement regarding the two Special Edition missions. Note the fan mistakenly associated the Gang Hideout and Bank Robbery bonus missions with pre-orders.
The Bank Robbery and Gang Hideout included in the RDR2 Special Edition are side activities created specifically for that edition and are not part of the main story.
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) June 4, 2018
Adding single player missions to special or collector's isn't exactly a new practice. These missions are never part of the main storyline and may not even have actual narrative content at all, rather being exclusive gameplay sequences with some kind of unique in-game item as a reward.
Gang Hideout missions were present in Red Dead Redemption as well, where they were smaller side activities that saw Marston clearing out camps of outlaws due to their criminal status. As such, it is easy to assume that the missions with the same name will be similar in nature.
During the press event in Edinburgh it was also revealed that bank robberies are also a feature of Red Dead Redemption 2, as side missions, and are entirely optional - thus not part of the main storyline. In case you're buying the Standard Edition of Red Dead Redemption 2, you needn't worry about missing out on story missions.
Red Dead Redemption 2 will arrive on the 26th of October, 2018.
