Red Dead Redemption 2 cheats let you do a wide range of things in the American frontier. Without the hassle of getting them yourself you can magically whip up weapons and upgrades to make your life as an outlaw even easier. Or you can just make yourself drunk without spending any of your ill-gotten gains at a bar, and ain't that the dream?
Cheat codes are tradition in Rockstar titles, but RDR2 cheats work a little differently. With this guide you can learn more about how to find and activate cheat codes in Red Dead Redemption to give Arthur Morgan an easier (or more intoxicated) ride through the harsh Western plains.
How to use Red Dead Redemption 2 cheats
Fallout 4 cheats: Nuclear codes
Minecraft commands: Unblocked
RDR2 cheats: Most wanted
GTA 5 cheats: Phone it in
The Sims 4 cheats: Life hacks
Ark cheats: Expedited evolution
All of the cheat codes you can use in Red Dead Redemption 2 are readily available in the world, provided you know where to look. In RDR2, cheat codes are actually cheat phrases, and you can find these phrases carved into furniture or scribbled on pieces of paper, for instance. Generally, if you find a phrase in a seemingly unusual place, that’s your cue to head into the Cheats section of the menu and give it a try.
Most newspapers have a chance of containing a phrase that you can use as a cheat, those being the New Hanover Gazette, Saint Denis Times, and Blackwater Ledger. The former can be picked up in Annesburg and Valentine, the Saint Denis Times in Rhodes and Saint Denis, and the latter in Strawberry and Blackwater.
Open up a newspaper, zoom in, and have a look at the bottom right corner. If you see a phrase underneath one of the news articles, that'll usually be a cheat code. Secret phrases you find in the newspaper can only be activated when you have bought the paper, too, so make a habit of purchasing any newspaper you see during your adventure.
After you've unlocked a cheat code in RDR2, you can head back to your settings menu to toggle them off and on. Beware, having cheats turned on will remove your ability to earn achievements or save your game progress.
RDR2 cheats list
If you don’t want to try and find the codes naturally, below are the cheat phrases and what they unlock. Please note, certain cheat codes will not unlock unless you have bought the corresponding newspaper, even if you know the phrase.
Remember, the punctuation in each cheat phrase is important but capitalization is not.
| RDR2 Cheat | Cheat Code Phrase | Newspaper Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Basic weapons | A simple life, a beautiful death | -- |
| Stealth weapons | Death is silence | -- |
| Gunslinger weapons | History is written by fools | -- |
| Get $500 | Greed is now a virtue | -- |
| Get drunk | A fool on command | -- |
| Unlock all outfits | Vanity. All is vanity | -- |
| Learn all recipes | Eat of knowledge | -- |
| Unlock camp upgrades | Share | -- |
| Lowest Honor | You revel in your disgrace, I see | -- |
| Neutral Honor | Balance. All is balance | -- |
| Increase Wanted level | You want punishment | -- |
| Lower Wanted level | You want freedom | -- |
| Remove notoriety and bounties | You want everyone to go away | -- |
| Dead-Eye level 1 | Guide me better | -- |
| Dead-Eye level 2 | Make me better | -- |
| Dead-Eye level 3 | I shall be better | -- |
| Dead-Eye level 4 | I still seek more | -- |
| Dead-Eye level 5 | I seek and I find | -- |
| Infinite Dead-Eye | Be greedy only for foresight | -- |
| Increase Health, Stamina, and Dead-Eye meters | Seek all the bounty of this place | -- |
| Refill Health, Stamina, and Dead-Eye | You flourish before you die | -- |
| Increase horse bonding level | My kingdom is a horse | -- |
| Call your horse from any distance | Better than my dog | -- |
| Spawn a racehorse | Run! Run! Run! | -- |
| Spawn a Superior horse | You want more than you have | -- |
| Spawn a random horse | You want something new | -- |
| Spawn a stagecoach | The best of the old ways | -- |
| Spawn a wagon | Keep your dreams simple | -- |
| Spawn a buggy | Keep your dreams light | -- |
| Infinite ammo | Abundance is the dullest desire | Purchase newspaper after completing Chapter 1 |
| Heavy weapons | Greed is American virtue | Purchase newspaper in Chapter 3 after completing the mission 'Advertising, the New American Art' |
| Remove map fog | You long for sight and see nothing | Purchase newspaper in Chapter 3 after completing the mission 'Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern' |
| Highest Honor | Virtue unearned is not virtue | Purchase newspaper in Chapter 4 after completing the mission 'Urban Pleasures' |
| Infinite Stamina | The lucky be strong evermore | Purchase newspaper after completing Chapter 5 |
| Fill meters and fortify cores | You seek more than the world offers | Purchase newspaper in Chapter 6 after completing the mission 'The King's Son' |
| Spawn a warhorse | You are a beast built for war | Purchase newspaper after completing the Epilogue |
| Spawn circus wagon | Would you be happier as a clown? | Purchase newspaper after completing the Epilogue |