Red Dead Online players could lose their progress because of issues with the game, Rockstar warns

Fully functioning version of the game could not arrive for months

(Rockstar Games)

Red Dead players could lose their progress in the brand new, online multiplayer mode, developers have warned.

The vast new mode is being released this week after more than a month of waiting by fans. But it is still in a beta, and developers Rockstar warned that the early version of the game could include a wide variety of problems for players.

Perhaps most concerning about them is the fact that any progress players make in the game can't guaranteed, meaning that time spent playing it now could be lost in the future.

The company said it hoped that wouldn't happen. But it warned people there was a chance it might well be lost.

"We hope that all player progress during this early period of the Beta will be able to remain intact long term, however as with many betas for large scale online experiences such as this, there is always the chance that we may need to implement rank or other stat resets in case of issues," developers wrote in a long update about the beta.

The "complete, fun and fully-functional experience" in the online version of the game might not arrive for months, developers warned. Until then, players should report anything they find that doesn't work properly, and Rockstar assured players they would be working continuously to get rid of any issues.

At the same time, Rockstar said they hoped to hear about new positive changes that could be added to the game.

"We strongly encourage everyone to send us feedback on your experience, from ways to improve gameplay to suggestions for future content – we want to know what you like, love or dislike and what you’d like to see added, changed or implemented into Red Dead Online," Rockstar wrote.

The beta version of Red Dead Online is rolling out now, in a staggered format that is intended to ensure the servers can cope with the vast demand to play it. When exactly players will get access to it depends on when they started playing, with everyone being granted access at the end of the week.