The “bug” in Red Dead Redemption 2 is actually one of the game’s cleverest Easter eggs

Players on Reddit are discussing a detail in Red Dead Redemption 2 The question is whether this was a real mistake by Rockstar Games or a clever Easter egg.

When Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and shortly thereafter for PC and immediately became one of the best video games of all time. This prequel to the 2010 Red Dead Redemption In “The 40 Fingers” you play Arthur Morgan, a leading member of the notorious Dutch Van der Linde gang before their miserable downfall.

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“Red Dead Redemption 2 is the epic story of outlaw Arthur Morgan and the notorious Van der Linde gang on the run across America at the dawn of the modern era,” says the synopsis of the ever-popular Wild West action adventure. So what is this detail that could be one of Rockstar Games’ cleverest Easter eggs, I hear you ask?

“Why is Thomas Downes’ last name misspelled on his grave?” Redditor TheOneShotKidd asked. Before we go any further, I will point out some important spoiler for Red Dead Redemption 2so consider this your last Spoiler warning.

Thomas Downes is a very important NPC in Red Dead Redemption 2Quite early in the story, he accidentally infects Arthur Morgan with tuberculosis, which was incurable at the time of the play (1899), but can now be treated with a course of antibiotics.

At some point later in the game, Thomas Downes dies, and if you chase him or stumble upon him by chance, you can find his grave. However, Thomas’ last name is misspelled on his grave: “Downs” instead of Downes.

But rather than being an oversight on Rockstar Games’ part, the most plausible reason for this misspelling is the low illiteracy rate during this historical period. “Because illiteracy was much more common back then than it is today,” Rass_Cunningham replied, and much of the Reddit thread agreed.

“Anyone who completed the 8th grade was highly educated compared to the average person in the American West,” explained colt707. “That was a time when sending your children to school was completely voluntary.”

Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is also backwards compatible with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, but unfortunately does not offer 60fps support at the time of writing.