leak about an alien-themed DLC began spreading online over the weekend. But today, the originator of the leak confessed that it was all a lie, posted to see how easily rumors can spread online.On Saturday user u/throwaway11113453 published a supposed “leak” he was told by a Rockstar employee friend of theirs in the r/GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit. Although the leak has been removed by the mods, it essentially proposed the following details:
- There is a single-player DLC for Red Dead Redemption 2 in the works centering on Aliens, similar to Red Dead Redemption’s Undead Nightmare DLC.
- The first Red Dead Redemption is being completely remade with new features and graphics introduced in Red Dead Redemption 2.
The leak was highly suspect, but became even more widespread after it was picked up by YouTubers and multiple media outlets.
However, the same user who spread the leak over the weekend published their confession on the r/GamingLeaksAndRumors subreddit today. “There is no DLC for Red Dead Redemption 2 or remake of the first game as far as I know,” they wrote.
Instead, the user claimed that the original leak was “an experiment” they conducted to observe the spread of “rumors in video game culture.” Though it’s more likely this was a prank gone wrong considering how the poster said they were feeling guilty once some big websites started reporting on the rumor.
They chose Red Dead Redemption2 because they claimed it was “being ignored,” and built their ruse on top of the alien easter eggs found throughout the main story campaign. “I put in small details I thought in my head would make sense such as, ‘Still playing as Arthur.’ But I stayed real vague just to build up some speculation.”
They also said they wanted to see a remake of the first Red Dead Redemption with “all the bells and whistles” of the sequel, so they added that into their leak as well.
“I learned that some people will believe anything that someone says if it sounds believable,” the user said. “And also that mass media is a powerful tool, over 70k people at least have seen this fake leak that I wrote, and I’m glad that a majority of people saw through it!”
Responses to the revelation that the original poster lied about the leak has split the comments. Some are applauding the reddit user for coming clean, while others have harsher things to say. “Well that’s a douchey move. Congrats you have proved you can lie on the internet. Science thanks you,” one user wrote in response to the confession.
Whether intentional or not, this “experiment” really did show how easy it is for rumors to gain traction and become news stories. Especially with communication channels like YouTube which can further amplify rumors found online in forums and subreddits.
If Rockstar is working on a single-player DLC for Red Dead Redemption 2, we’ll probably not find out from a “friend who works at Rockstar.” Furthermore, it’s more likely that Rockstar is working on additional content for Red Dead Online than single player DLC.
Rockstar still regularly updates Grand Theft Auto Online with DLC content, including today’s Casino update. So, Rockstar’s post-launch priorities seem to lie firmly in its online offerings.
Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. Have an actual Red Dead Redemption 2 leak? Hit him up on Twitter or email [email protected]
