The Red Dead Redemption 2 companion app can completely replace its HUD

Rockstar Games has revealed a companion app for its upcoming game Red Dead Redemption 2 that, in addition to a slew of typical companion app features, can be used in place of the game's actual heads-up display (HUD).

Companion apps aren’t a new development by any means, and Rockstar Games itself has made use of the external tool for titles like Grand Theft Auto V in the past, but giving players the option to remove in-game HUD elements and instead view that info from a smartphone or tablet is a departure from past tie-in apps.

With the companion app in hand, players can completely disable any HUD elements that would typically appear on screen to pass along information about mini-maps, ongoing missions objectives, character health, and the like, leaving the in-game display clutter-free. 

Switching off the HUD is completely optional and the app, which hits both iOS and Android on October 25, can also be used to view and set waypoints on a live in-game map, track statistics, access the Rockstar Social Club, and read the character Arthur’s in-game journal.

Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 is also due out this Friday, though game industry chatter about the upcoming title has largely been centered around the seemingly extreme amount of crunch that developers at the company had to put in to get the game out the door. That discussion arose from studio co-founder Dan Houser’s casual comment about the senior writing staff, which includes himself and 3 others, pulling a couple 100-hour weeks toward the end of development, though the conversation has rapidly morphed into a look at the conditions developers have had to endure to ship both this latest and past Rockstar games.