Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place in a large, fictionalized version of the United States in 1899, at the very end of the Wild West era, with an epilogue set in 1907.

Main setting

  • The game world is split into five fictional states: Ambarino, New Hanover, Lemoyne, West Elizabeth, and New Austin, all representing different regions of the American frontier and South.
  • The time period (1899, then 1907 in the epilogue) reflects a transition from the lawless frontier to a more modern, policed America.

Notable locations

  • Saint Denis is a large industrial city clearly inspired by New Orleans, showing rapid urbanization and industrial growth.
  • Other key towns like Valentine, Rhodes, Annesburg, Blackwater, Armadillo, and Tumbleweed cover ranching regions, coal country, bayou plantations, and desert borderlands, giving a broad slice of frontier life.

Real-world inspirations

  • Fans and commentators commonly map Lemoyne to Louisiana and the Deep South, New Austin to Texas–New Mexico style desert, and Ambarino to the Rocky Mountain region.
  • New Hanover is often linked to Great Plains–style states (like Kansas or Oklahoma), showing wide open prairies and ranch land.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.