World of Red Dead

Map from a globe of the world in Red Dead Redemption

The World of Red Dead serves as the setting of the Red Dead series. The series primarily takes place in the real-life continent of North America.

United States of America

In the Red Dead franchise, the vast majority of locations are based on towns and states found in the real-life United States of America. The Old West genre of the series makes the United States a logical choice for the primary setting.

Main Locations:

• New Austin — Geographically, New Austin appears to correspond with Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas; from the geographic perspective of the Red Dead Redemption games, as well as terrain clues in off-limits areas, it appears that areas representing central and eastern Texas exist between New Austin (and its Mexican southern neighbor, Nuevo Paraíso) and the state of Lemoyne.

• West Elizabeth — West Elizabeth is an amalgamation of several states in the Western United States. Geographically, West Elizabeth appears to correspond roughly to Texas, Utah, Kansas, and Colorado, although visually Big Valley and Tall Trees more closely resemble rural California.

• Ambarino — Ambarino takes influence from many states of the Rocky Mountains such as Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho; its approximate geographic location seems to correspond best with Colorado, and the state's name suggests this (Ambarino means 'amber' in Spanish, while Colorado means 'reddish').

• New Hanover — New Hanover, for the most part, is a widespread grassland. It combines elements from several states including: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

• Lemoyne — Lemoyne is directly based on the State of Louisiana, the two even share similar names. A giant forest-like swamp near the Gulf of Mexico, both Lemoyne and Louisiana have significant metropolitan areas (Saint Denis and New Orleans, respectively), as well as French/African-American heritage and a history involving the Civil War.

Mexico

Mexico also serves as a popular setting in the Red Dead franchise, playing a role in both and Red Dead Revolver and Red Dead Redemption. Although is mentioned sparingly in the second Redemption game, Mexico is inaccessible without glitches.

Main locations:

• Nuevo Paraíso — Nuevo Paraíso corresponds with Nuevo Leon, while its geographic elements resemble Sonora as well as the American states of Arizona and Utah. It also draws influence from the Mexican states Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Chihuahua.

The Caribbean

The Caribbean is a location briefly encountered in the fifth chapter of Red Dead Redemption 2.

Main locations:

• Guarma — Guarma corresponds with Inagua geographically while drawing heavy influence from Cuba.

Mentioned Locations

Other cities, countries and places are not directly featured, but are instead mentioned. This includes major locations in Red Dead Revolver.

North America

• Alabama is the home of politician and West Elizabeth governor candidate Archibald Atkinson. It is also mentioned in a song sung by the player while drunk.
• Alaska Territory is the place where outlaw Nikoli "Yukon" Borodin lived during his youth, which is an incorporated community located in Southern Alaska.
• Anadarko, Oklahoma is mentioned in a newspaper article reporting the merciful execution of the Tallulah Jetty Gang.
• Atlantic City, New Jersey is where local gunsmith, Earl "Doc" Weatherby, comes from.
• Baltimore, Maryland is mentioned by biographer Theodore Levin and implied to be from there during a conversation with the protagonist.
• Boston, Massachusetts is home to the Chelonia religious cult. The city is also mentioned by Penelope Braithwaite in "The Course of True Love".
• Brimstone is mentioned by random campers in Red Dead Redemption.
• Broadway, New York City is mentioned by Hosea Matthews in the mission "The Spines of America", when he's conning Bob Crawford.
• California is mentioned by Sam Odessa multiple times in the side mission of the same name. John Marston confirms that California is located just due west of New Austin.
• Chicago, Illinois is listed as one of the destinations of the Pan-Atlantic Express line in Revolver, and in Redemption 2 the city is shown on a cigarette card. The Amos Schiffer Brewing Co. is also based in Chicago. Also, the site of where an anti-lynching service is held.
• Connecticut was the place where Lucille Braithwaite was exiled for having an affair with Douglas Gray.
• Crenshaw Hills is a town in the Grizzlies where Micah Bell saved Dutch's life when the latter tried to sell stolen gold to some locals.
• Dade County, Missouri is mentioned by Marshal Johnson in the mission "Justice in Pike's Basin."
• Deer Creek is mentioned by Hosea Matthews when he recounts having an old saddle stolen from him at that place in the mission "Exit Pursued by a Bruised Ego."
• Florida is mentioned in a newspaper article when the Stratton Motor Carriage Company tested an early model of an automobile on a Florida beach, setting a new record.
• Georgia was the place where the body of a popular reverend was found, in a small village.
• Illinois is where a young John Marston spent his childhood robbing to survive until he killed a man and was almost lynched for it.
• Fort Wayne, Indiana is the birthplace of Nigel West Dickens.
• Indiana is mentioned in the Chelonian Handbill.
• Kansas is mentioned during a conversation between Jenny and the preacher in "Exodus in America."
• Kentucky is referenced by the alcoholic beverage Kentucky Bourbon. It's also referenced by the horse breed "Kentucky Saddler."
• Laramie, Wyoming is the main headquarter for the Laramie Corporation; The gang is based on a real organization known as the "Wyoming Stock Growers Association."
• Laredo, Texas is where a client of the D.D. Packenbush Repeating Arms Co. lives.
• Lawrence, Kansas was one of the main destinations for the Lemoyne Raiders. Many raids were carried out there against the "jayhawkers in the north."
• Lower East Side, New York City, NY is mentioned in Evelyn Miller's book The American Inferno.
• Maine is Stewart Burke's place of origin.
• Manhattan is the home of writer and comedian Jimmy Saint.
• Massachusetts witnessed an experiment with a prototype radio, the signal reached Navy battleships in deep waters off the East Coast.
• Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota - Wisconsin is a location featured on a Pan-Atlantic Railroad advertisement.
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin is mentioned by Hosea in a conversation with Simon Pearson.
• Mississippi River is mentioned once by Ralph Clover upon entering his store in Revolver, and in Redemption, by E.H. Kretzschmar in a random dialogue between him and the player.
• Montana is the last real US State that the Van der Linde Gang visited prior to 1899.
• Nebraska is briefly mentioned in the "Jack Hall" folk song.
• New England is not mentioned by name but a newspaper scrap of The New England Examiner can be found by the player, which is a local newspaper in that region.
• New Haven, Connecticut is where Professor Shiftacre, an art expert and critic, traveled from to Saint Denis to analyze some paintings in the mayor's gallery.
• New Jersey is mentioned by Arthur Morgan in the mission "Favored Sons", when he tells Dutch that a letter from one of the soldiers they just killed says the boy was from New Jersey.
• New Orleans, Louisiana is not directly mentioned in Revolver, although a letter written by Natalie Kelly addressed to her uncle has a postmark of the city of New Orleans.
• New York - both the state and the city, are mentioned throughout the franchise: in Revolver Lily Belle Parsons traveled from New York City to Brimstone to meet her future husband, in Redemption Bonnie MacFarlane's remaining brother lives in New York and works as a banker, and in Redemption 2 Dutch suggests that the gang could move up north to New York and then take a boat there to escape the authorities.
• North Elizabeth is mentioned by Sean MacGuire in a campfire conversation when he retells the story of how he met Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews.
• Northern Grizzlies is mentioned by Arthur Morgan in his journal.
• Northfield, Minnesota is where the infamous Jack Hall Gang attempted to rob a national bank, failing in the process.
• Oklahoma is mentioned by an Union Freight worker of Blackwater.
• Oregon is marked on the Register Rock, the inscription says "OREGON WAGON TRAIL." This is a nod to the real-life 1849 Oregon Wagon Trail.
• Pennsylvania directly mentioned by Dutch when he tells Arthur that his father died on a battlefield in Pennsylvania during "The New South", heavily implying that the latter may have fought in the Battle of Gettysburg.
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is close to where Dutch van der Linde was born.
• Queens, New York City, NY is mentioned in a newspaper article about D.S. MacKenna.
• Sacramento is the capital of the state of California and is also the place where the "Annual States' Fair" of 1898 was held, according to Guido Martelli.
• Saint Louis, Missouri is said to be one of many locations visited by famous gunslinger Billy Midnight.
• Saint Luke's Academy, Illinois is a private school that "Mr. Appleby" tried to apply for.
• San Francisco appears on a cigarette card in RDR2, however there are more mentions of this location; Newspaper reports state that the Californian city of San Francisco suffered a massive earthquake in 1906 and then, in 1907, a second epidemic of bubonic plague began during the summer.
• Santa Fe, New Mexico is the place where the weapon known as the "Revolver" was apparently manufactured.
• Silver Springs is mentioned in a newspaper article as town, who reported discovery and pursuit of the Tallulah Jetty Gang.
• Spring Rocks is mentioned in a photo of Beatrice Morgan as place, where the photo was taken in 1870.
• Reno, Nevada is mentioned by both Javier Escuella and Arthur Morgan while fishing in the third chapter of the game. The Van der Linde Gang held up stagecoach in Nevada but then decided to let the passengers go because there were families present.
• Rio Grande was the scenario of a massive battle that was fought in the 1870s between General Diego's battalion and the Union in Red Dead Revolver.
• Tallulah Jetty is an unknown location mentioned in Redemption as the place where The Serendipity riverboat is based out of, and the street Tallulah Place is named after this location. In Redemption 2 however, it is the name of a gang. In the beta for Red Dead Redemption 2, the location was intended to be at Van Horn's current location.
• Tennessee was where a robbery that JB Cripps orchestrated took place, but it didn't go well and he ended up locked in the bank vault along with his 2 accomplices.
• Texas is mentioned in a newspaper article about the Lemoyne Raiders fleeing to Texas after most of them were killed by the protagonist and his gang, and the Register Rock has an inscription that reads "T. BART - TEXAS".
• Tucson, Arizona is mentioned by Karen Jones in the mission "Sodom? Back to Gomorrah." The gang robbed a bank there in 1897.
• Umpqua Forest, Oregon was Manny Quinn's natural habitat before being chopped down and transported to Brimstone, where he temporarily became a target practice dummy for the gun shop.
• Portland, Oregon is mentioned as being the place where J. Saylor & Sons Cement Works operates out of.
• Vermont is mentioned in a letter addressed to a woman named Mandy.
• Virginia is mentioned in the Jail Ledger, one of the convicts arrested was from there. In RDR1, Archer Fordham mentions Virginia in "And You Will Know The Truth."
• Wall Street, New York City, NY is mentioned several times in the newspapers.
• Washington State is mentioned by Arthur Morgan in the mission "Honor, Amongst Thieves."
• Washington, D.C. is stated to have been where Captain Monroe was sent from to investigate the ongoing conflict between the Army and the Wapiti Reservation.
• West Point, New York is frequently mentioned by Fort Wallace soldiers throughout the sixth chapter of the game. Captain Monroe is also a West Point graduate.
• Wisconsin is where JB Cripps worked tanning hides sometime in the 1860s.
• Wyoming is where the U.S. Army pursued and killed a significant portion of the Wapiti Tribe.
• Quebec, Canada is mentioned by Hosea Matthews in "The Gilded Cage."

Europe

• Almería, Spain was visited by Máximo Cristóbal Valdespino, a famous explorer and treasure hunter.
• Cleveland, Yorkshire is referenced from the horse breed "Cleveland Bay."
• Lincolnshire, England is the place Hosea Matthew's grandfather farmed turnips.
• London, England was the city in which Jack Swift committed his first bank robbery before fleeing to North America. It's also where Aldridge T. Abbington claims to have entertained the Queen in a manner he could not discuss on stage.
• Newport, England is a recurrent setting suggested by publisher "Scruffers & Co." to aspiring writers as an improvement for rejected manuscripts.
• Beaune, France is mentioned on a bottle of wine.
• Donegal, Ireland is mentioned as being a residence of Sean MacGuire and is also referenced by the outfit "The Donegal."
• Dublin, Ireland is the birthplace of Molly O'Shea.
• Norfolk, England is mentioned from the horse breed "Norfolk Roadster."
• Suffolk, England is referenced from the horse breed "Suffolk Punch."
• Toulouse, France had a famous church, which was the model inspiration of the Church of the Holy Blessed Virgin.
• Paris, France is where The Petit Flâneur are from; it is also where Charles Châtenay lived.
• Vienna, Austria is Leopold Strauss' birth place.
• Germany is mentioned by Bill Williamson as a wrong name for Strauss' birth place in one camp interaction.
• The Kingdom of Poland is mentioned to be where Aldridge T. Abbington discovered Mrs. Robin Koninsky.
• Bavaria, Germany is mentioned as being the place where Hortensia is from
• Italy is mentioned as being where Aldridge T. Abbington found Benjamin Lazarus. It's also mentioned on a bottle of olive oil in Cinco Torres.
• Luxembourg is the homeland of Princess Isabeau Katherine Zinsmeister.
• Belgium is referenced by the horse breed "Belgian Draft."
• Hungary is mentioned in the name of the horse breed "Hungarian Half-bred."
• Wales is mentioned by the horse breed "Welsh Mountain", a fighter from Wales can also be seen in "Bare Knuckle Friendships" and Alwyn Lloyd is intended to be from here.
• Russia is also mentioned by Aldridge T. Abbington.

South America

• Argentina is a location Dutch planned on making a rendezvous with the gang after successfully pulling off the heist in "Banking, The Old American Art."
• Colombia is mentioned by Javier during a negotiation with John in the mission "The Gates of El Presidio." Aldridge T. Abbington also mentions it and claims that they do not wear clothes there.
• Brazil is mentioned by Mary-Beth Gaskill during "Polite Society, Valentine Style," and by John Marston during a conversation in Horseshoe Overlook, to which Javier responds he once met a Brazilian man at a bar.

Caribbean

• Cuba is stated to be located two islands west from Guarma according to a Guarman local.
• Puerto Rico is mentioned in a newspaper article covering the recent malady outbreaks that are occurring in US territories.

Asia

• Philippines is mentioned as being subject to occupation by the United States in a newspaper article.
• Shanghai, China is stated by Orville Swanson to be where the ship his wife stowed away aboard in San Francisco was bound to.
• Bali, Indonesia is a location visited by Simon Pearson.
• Java, Indonesia is a location visited by Simon Pearson; he claims there is a man who lives there who is as big as a coconut that speaks seven languages.

Oceania

• Australia is one of several places Dutch van der Linde expresses intentions of having the gang relocate to, additionally echoed in a few instances by Leopold Strauss and Micah Bell. It is also erroneously referred to as Leopold Strauss's place of origin by Bill Williamson in a camp interaction.
• Tahiti is mentioned as the primary place Dutch van der Linde wants the gang to relocate to.

Antarctica

• The South Pole is jokingly mentioned by Arthur during "The Artist's Way."

Africa

• Africa (specifically the Congo region) is mentioned by Uncle in a camp conversation with Hosea.
• Timbuktu, Mali is mentioned by Uncle in a camp conversation with Hosea. It is also mentioned by John Marston in "My Last Boy."

Politicians

Throughout the Red Dead games, numerous politicians in both America and Mexico are mentioned, including presidents, governors, senators and mayors. These include both fictional and real-life individuals. Fictional U.S. politicians are used to parody several real-life individuals as well as the U.S. and local governments.

Red Dead Revolver

• President: The president during the events of Revolver is never explicity stated, although the real-life president during the events of the game was Grover Cleveland.
• Governor: Griffon, the governor of Mississippi territory, based in the capital city of Brimstone.

Red Dead Redemption

• Presidents: Never explicitly stated. During the year of 1911, the actual president was William H. Taft, and in 1914 Woodrow Wilson.
  • Abraham Lincoln - Herbert Moon occasionally mentions him.
  • William McKinley - displayed on the $10 bill.
  • Theodore Roosevelt - occasionally mentioned by the newspaper man in Armadillo.
• Governors: Nate Johns is running for governor of West Elizabeth at the beginning of the story, then manages to get more votes and support thanks to the actions of John Marston and the Bureau, and is finally elected in 1911. His governorship is removed in 1914 due to being implicated in acts of corruption.
  • Archibald Atkinson ran for governor of West Elizabeth during the elections of 1911. Rival of Nate Johns.
• Mayors: "Mayor of New Austin" - mentioned in a campfire conversation.

Red Dead Redemption 2

• Presidents: In 1899, the current US President is Alfred MacAlister. He was likely assassinated, since his real-life counterpart, William McKinley was killed in 1901.
  • By 1907, the present was former senator and war hero, Thaddeus Waxman. He is likely based on Theodore Roosevelt, who also fought in the Spanish American War in 1898, and had prior political positions.
  • President Fisher - Was president prior to the events of 1899.
  • President Hardin -Was president prior to the events of 1899.
  • George Washington - seen on the collectable quarter in Red Dead Online.
• Governors: Unidentified "Governor of Ambarino" mentioned on a bounty poster.
  • "Governor of California" - possibly James Norris Gillett.
• Senators: Antoine Ricard is a senator who wanted to highlight the state of Lemoyne at the "States' Fair" in Sacramento, California. It is unknown what happened to him after the events of Red Dead Online set in 1898.
  • Senator Thomas Sharpe - killed by a gang of outlaws.
  • Senator Lancing - A senator from New York in 1899. He is mentioned in an article regarding Chinese immigration in the Blackwater Ledger No. 63.
• Legislators: Fredrick Mitchell was a Lemoyne State Legislator, murdered by the Lemoyne Raiders.
• Mayors: Nicholas Timmins is the mayor of Strawberry.
  • Henri Lemieux is the mayor of Saint Denis in 1899, and can be mayor in 1907. Depending on the player, Lemieux can be impeached and kicked out of office, or remain in office, giving the player a 10% discount in all stores in Saint Denis.
  • Jean Marc Mercier can be the mayor of Saint Denis in 1899 and 1907, depending on the player. If the player chooses to spare Jean Marc, he will become the new mayor after impeaching Lemieux, and remain in that position until sometime after 1907.

Trivia

Locations

• Brimstone has not been officially confirmed to exist in the later Red Dead Redemption continuity, as it is only mentioned during campfire segments, with the narrators likely recounting old Western legends.
• Saint Denis is based on the real-world city of New Orleans, Louisiana. They share a number of similarities, just as Lemoyne does with the real-world state of Louisiana.
  • In Red Dead Revolver's continuity, the real-life counterpart of Saint Denis does exist and it is implied to be where Natalie Kelley hailed from before joining her uncle in Brimstone.
  • In early stages of development, Saint Denis was located further below its placement in the final game and was initially named "New Bordeaux". However, the name would be used in Mafia III, another game published by Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive. New Bordeaux is mentioned on a Limping Williams whiskey label and in a campfire song.
• There are several communities throughout the United States that are named "Deer Creek" in states: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
  • However, the one in Oklahoma was not founded until 1898 (the year Red Dead Online took place).
• Several places in the United States are named "Crenshaw", including: Alabama, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania. However, the location "Crenshaw Hills" mentioned by Micah Bell is possibly named after the one in Los Angeles, California.
  • Rockstar San Diego is located in California, it is most likely to be a reference to this real location.
• Texas co-exists with New Austin in the Red Dead Redemption canon, even though New Austin is directly based on the state of Texas.
• The real world Mississippi River and State of Louisiana are reference several times throughout the Red Dead series. Louisiana is said to be the real-life state from which Natalie Kelley is home to in the Revolver universe.
  • With the release of Red Dead Redemption II confirming the Lannahechee being located in the State of Lemoyne in this universe, confirms the case of retcon, with all previous mentions to the Mississippi River since Red Dead Redemption being retconned as Lannahechee mentions.

Politicians

• President Fisher could be based off real life U.S. President Martin Van Buren, as he bears close facial resemblance to him.
• Alfred MacAlister shares a number of similarities with U.S. President William McKinley, including the period in which he was elected, assassination and similarities in overall appearance.
  • This is complicated by the fact William McKinley appears on the $10 bill in Red Dead Redemption. However, this could have been retconned in favor of deviating from famous real world figures.
• Thaddeus Waxman is based on U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, given both his appearance and reputation as a military leader before his ascendance to the presidency.
  • However, in Red Dead Redemption it is mentioned that Theodore Roosevelt exists and is president, as the newspaper vendor in Armadillo regularly says variations of "Teddy Roosevelt, first president to fly in aeroplane". This is another retconned minor character out of the original game.