Red Dead Redemption 2 'mistake' is actually one of the game's cleverest Easter eggs

Gamers on Reddit have been discussing a detail in Red Dead Redemption 2 questioning whether it was a genuine mistake by Rockstar Games or a clever Easter egg.

When Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, then shortly after for PC, it instantly became one of the greatest video games of all time. This prequel to the 2010 Red Dead Redemption sees you play Arthur Morgan, a leading member of the infamous Dutch Van Der Linde gang before its miserable demise.

Check out the Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer below!

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

“Why is Thomas Downes' last name misspelt on his grave?” asked Redditor TheOneShotKidd. Before we proceed, I am about to get into some major spoilers for Red Dead Redemption 2, so consider this to be your final spoiler warning.

Thomas Downes is a very important NPC in Red Dead Redemption 2. Quite early on in the story, he inadvertently gives Arthur Morgan tuberculosis, which during the time of the game's setting (1899) was incurable, unlike today where it can be treated with a course of antibiotics.

At some point later in the game, Thomas Downes dies and if you hunt it down or accidentally stumble across it, you can find his grave. However, Thomas’ last name is spelt wrong on his grave with “Downs instead of Downes.

Yet rather than this being an oversight by Rockstar Games, the most plausible reason for this spelling mistake is due to the low illiteracy during those historical times. “Because illiteracy was much more common then than it is now,” replied Rass_Cunningham and much of the Reddit thread agreed.

“During this point and time, if you made it through eigth grade then you were highly educated in comparison to the average person in the American West at the time,” explained colt707. “This was a time when sending your kids to school was entirely optional.”

Red Dead Redemption 2 is out now on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It’s also backwards compatible with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S but sadly at the time of writing has no 60fps support.