Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.

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 in order 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.

Built from the ground up for the latest hardware, Red Dead Online blends the classic multiplayer of the original Red Dead Redemption with the best of everything we have learned since then about creating deep multiplayer experiences. The result is something completely new and fun, and an experience that will continue to expand and evolve over time as we gain valuable feedback from our community in the Beta period.

Now that everyone has had a chance over the past month to experience the story of Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang in Red Dead Redemption 2, it is time to begin the beta period for Red Dead Online.

Built from the ground up for the latest hardware, Red Dead Online blends the classic multiplayer of the original Red Dead Redemption with the best of everything we have learned since then about creating deep multiplayer experiences. The result is something completely new and fun, and an experience that will continue to expand and evolve over time.

With the gameplay of Red Dead Redemption 2 as its foundation, Red Dead Online transforms the vast and deeply detailed landscapes, cities, towns and habitats of Red Dead Redemption 2 into a new, living online world ready to be shared by multiple players. Create and customize your character, tailor your abilities to suit your play style and head out into a new frontier full of things to experience.

Explore the world solo or with friends. Form or join a Posse to ride with up to seven players; gather around the fire at your Camp; head out hunting or fishing; visit bustling towns; battle enemy gangs and attack their hideouts; hunt for treasure; take on missions and interact with familiar characters from across the five states; or fight against other outlaws in both spontaneous skirmishes and pitched set-piece battles; compete with other players or whole Posses in open world challenges and much more.

This week the Red Dead Online Beta adds another new Showdown Mode, Up In Smoke, along with an Ability Card boost and several new items are now available in the Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue.

Up In Smoke puts players in a race to raze the opposing team’s base by delivering explosive packages - each successful delivery will cause another piece of a rival’s camp to go up in flames. The team who deals the most damage through successful deliveries wins.

And to help change up your skill set, all Ability Cards now offer a 30% XP boost.

New Up In Smoke Showdown Mode Added to the Red Dead Online Beta

Destroy the enemy camp at all costs in Up In Smoke, the latest Showdown Mode added to the Red Dead Online Beta today. All players start out with an explosive package and each successful delivery to the opposing team’s base will detonate a piece of their camp. Deliver all of your packages and raze the competition’s base to the ground to claim victory.

This week's featured bonus is a 30% XP boost on all Ability Cards. Ability Cards come in Dead Eye and Passive variants – Dead Eye Ability Cards grant special advantages while Dead Eye is active while Passive Ability Cards have unique Combat, Recovery or Defensive advantages - and each card has three available tiers. Rack up extra XP this week to reach the next tier faster, then upgrade the card to get an improved version of that ability. Ability Cards like To Fight Another Day, Strange Medicine and Slippery Bastard can all come in handy in Up in Smoke, equip them in your loadout while you’re fighting your way to deliver an explosive package behind enemy lines. Check out a primer on Ability Cards (and some other general combat tips) here.

This week’s additions to the Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue include:

• Winter Shotgun Coat
• Benbow Jacket
• Darned Stockings
• Manteca Hat

Red Dead Redemption 2 is currently available for PS4 and Xbox One.