Red Dead Online players on PC are being terrorized by hackers

For years now, Grand Theft Auto Online has had a reputation for being a cesspool of hackers and modders. Now it seems that Red Dead Online is following suit, thanks to the creation of “mod menus” which give people the power to do nearly anything they want.

YouTube is full of videos showcasing these tools, which have a variety of options ranging from god mode, spawning vehicles, and even changing the weather for everyone in your lobby.

Image: Mony Kaze / YouTube

Mod menus sometimes charge users for their services, while others are private, and only available to certain cheating communities. One particularly egregious modding ability appears to allow cheats to simply drain money from other players in their lobbies, as you can see in the video below by Zerdical.

At times, the hacks can turn Red Dead Online into a horror game. Earlier this week, a few players shared images that showed hackers forcibly attaching a wave of animal carcasses to victim’s bodies, resulting walking monstrosities such as the one below.

Image: PapaPittman / Reddit

It’s made playing Red Dead Online into a more hectic experience than usual, as players take advantage of the ability to make anything appear out of thin air.

While Rockstar did not immediately respond to a request for comment, it does seem like the developer is starting to take action against these rule breakers. Earlier this week, a cheating forum populated a thread where a number of players claimed to have been banned from Red Dead Online. Here, cheaters readily admit to using things like infinite stamina and teleportation. Depending on the infraction, folks are getting their characters reset, banned for a month, or permanently banned.

The situation has left some players clamoring for private lobbies, where they don’t have to deal with strangers who happen to have god-like powers. In the past, Rockstar has sued the creators of modding menus in games like GTA Online.