UPDATE 20th May 2019: Rockstar has said it’s sorted out an issue with Red Dead Online that caused players to stumble across piles of dead horses.
“The issue affecting some players in Red Dead Online that was causing reduced numbers of animals in session and other knock-on effects has been resolved,” Rockstar said in a statement given to Eurogamer.
GG, Rockstar.
ORIGINAL STORY 19th May 2019: Red Dead Online players are stumbling across inexplicable piles of dead, skinned horses.
First posted on reddit (thanks, Polygon), a screenshot entitled “So I’m getting back into RDO and I was going to play poker in the saloon…” shows a unwitting cowboy discovering a field of deceased horses in Valentine.
The appearance of the equine graveyard seems to coincide with a dearth of wildlife and NPCs anywhere else on the map, too. For some, horses aren’t spawning when players whistle for it, either, and going into the stables manually “forces [players] back into that endless cutscene ffs”.