Red Dead Redemption 2 is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the Red Dead series and a prequel to the 2010 game Red Dead Redemption. This game was set up in 1899 in America, narrating the incidents that took place before the story of Red Dead Redemption 1, which took place in 1910. The protagonist of the game is Arthur Morgan, an outlaw who is a member of the Van Der Linde Gang. Arthur Morgan (Roger Clark), a seasoned lieutenant in the Van der Linde gang, is controlled by the player. Dutch van der Linde (Benjamin Byron Davis) is the gang's charismatic leader, extolling the virtues of individual liberty while denouncing the advancing march of contemporary society. Gunslingers Bill Williamson (Steve J. Palmer), Javier Escuella (Gabriel Sloyer), and Micah Bell (Peter Blomquist), Black Indian hunter Charles Smith (Noshir Dalal), housewife-turned-gunslinger Sadie Adler (Alex McKenna), and lazy Uncle (John O'Creagh and James McBride) are among the group. Hosea Matthews, Dutch's best friend and co-leader, is played by Curzon Dobell. Due to the gang's illegal activities, they clash with the wealthy oil billionaire Leviticus Cornwall.

Following an unsuccessful attempt at a ferry heist in 1899, the Van der Linde gang is forced to abandon their big cash hoard and escape Blackwater. They resolve to amass enough wealth to elude prosecution and retire, realizing that the era of outlaws is coming to an end as civilization advances. After they rob a train that belongs to Cornwall, he sends Pinkertons to capture them. The gang works jobs to make money, and Dutch keeps saying that this will be their last theft. The gang moves to Lemoyne after a shootout with Cornwall's men in Valentine. There, they work for the Grays and Braithwaites concurrently in an effort to turn them against one another. Nevertheless, the families betray them: While the Braithwaites abduct Jack and sell him to Bronte, the Grays prepare an ambush for the gang in Rhodes. After the gang destroys both families in retaliation, they get Jack back from Bronte, who initially gives them leads on jobs before betraying them. Arthur is disturbed when Dutch kidnaps him and feeds him to an alligator as payback. After the group robs a bank in Saint Denis, Hosea is killed, and John is taken into custody by the Pinkertons. Dutch, Arthur, Bill, Javier, and Micah take a ship bound for Cuba and flee the city. After a violent storm destroys the ship, the men wash ashore on the island of Guarma and get sucked into a conflict between the locals, who are all slaves, and Fussar, the owner of a despotic sugar plantation. The trio secures transportation back to the United States and meets up with the rest of the gang after assisting the revolutionaries in killing Fussar. After Arthur defies him by freeing John sooner than expected and appointing Micah as his top lieutenant in Arthur's place, Dutch becomes fixated on one final heist and begins to question Arthur's devotion. Arthur worries that Dutch is changing into a different guy than the one he knew—one who is isolating himself, abandoning their principles, and killing Cornwall. After receiving a tuberculosis diagnosis, he is forced to acknowledge his mortality. After considering his course of action and how to best safeguard the group, Arthur advises John to flee with Abigail and Jack and publicly opposes Dutch by providing assistance to the local Native Americans. After the Pinkertons attack the camp, Dutch starts to suspect that one of the gang members is an informant. A few gang members depart after growing disillusioned, but Dutch and Micah plan one more crime: robbing a train full of goods and lots of cash .When Dutch deserts Arthur for the Army, leaves John for dead, and declines to save an abducted Abigail, Arthur's faith in him is destroyed. Before Abigail murders Milton, who identifies Micah as the Pinkertons' informant, Arthur and Sadie save Abigail from Milton. Upon his return to the camp, Arthur publicly accuses Micah of treachery. After Arthur and a recently returned John are turned upon by Dutch, Bill, Javier, and Micah, the Pinkertons attack, ending the standoff. The player has the option to send Arthur back to the camp to retrieve the gang's money or have him help John escape by holding up the Pinkertons. Arthur is ambushed by Micah, and Dutch break up their battle. Dutch is persuaded to leave and give up on Micah by Arthur. Arthur passes away from his wounds if the player is of the highest honor but if the player has a low honor, Arthur gets killed by Micah.

John and his family are making an honest effort to live a moral life eight years later, in 1907. They land a job at a ranch, where John defends his boss from bandits by striking back. Abigail departs with Jack, thinking John won't change his ways. John borrows money from the bank in order to buy a ranch. After constructing a new house with Uncle, Sadie, and Charles, he makes Abigail a proposal when she gets back. When John, Sadie, and Charles discover that Micah has revived and created his own gang, they attack his camp. After a tense standoff, Dutch shoots Micah and exits quietly, allowing John to murder Micah and take possession of the gang's Blackwater cache to settle his due. When John weds Abigail, they start a new life together, with Jack and Uncle by their sides, while Sadie and Charles leave.

Other gang members who are still alive are shown in sequences throughout the credits. Finding Micah's killer, Edgar Ross follows the trail to John's ranch, hinting to what will happen in Red Dead Redemption.