How Old Is Dutch & The Van Der Linde Gang In RDR2?

The fall of the Van der Linde gang is a major plot point across the Red Dead Redemption games, with the 2018 prequel, Red Dead Redemption 2, showing the group’s final days in 1899. RDR‘s story begins years later with John Marston tasked with tracking down the remaining members, including leader Dutch Van der Linde, but the ages of each character are hardly mentioned in either game.

When players are re-introduced to the Van der Lindes in Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s clear that the group has been around for quite some time. Red Dead Redemption 2‘s opening sequence immediately introduces players to the game’s protagonist, Arthur Morgan, and the Van der Linde Gang. The group is facing desperate times, as they try to survive a harsh winter on the run after a failed ferry heist in Blackwater.

How Old Is Dutch Van der Linde In Red Dead Redemption 2?

Dutch Has Been A Role Model To Younger Members Of The Gang

Dutch Van der Linde is a pivotal character in both Red Dead Redemption games, especially in the prequel. Throughout that title, Dutch realizes that the “age of outlaws” is finally coming to an end, leading to him driving his gang to escape the law and retire. This leads to an obsession over “one last heist,” and emphasizes how the age of Dutch’s gang plays a key part in their desperation and activities within the story.

The Van der Linde gang is mostly split into two age ranges: the younger generation in their 20s and 30s, and the older members in their 40s and 50s. Dutch falls into the latter category, which leads to many of the younger members of the gang initially looking to him for guidance, even if later in the game it becomes evident that his leadership is flawed.

According to the official guidebook published by Piggyback, Dutch was born in 1855, making him 44 years old during the events of Red Dead Redemption 2. The ages of the Van der Linde gang members during Red Dead Redemption 2 are as follows:

How Old Is John Marston In Red Dead Redemption?

Enough Time Passing Gives Players A Good Indication For Everyone’s Age

By the time the events of Red Dead Redemption roll around, 12 years have passed since the second game ironically puts players in a prequel. Dutch and his gang show up in the first game as older and more seasoned characters, though no longer together as an official group. In fact, many would jump at the chance to kill one another, despite their past relationships.

As protagonist John Marston, you play someone old enough to have a whole family to protect, a far cry from the same character in Red Dead Redemption 2. Given how much time has passed, we can calculate the approximate age of every returning character in Red Dead Redemption, which you can see in the table below:

Red Dead Redemption takes place in 1911, giving us a good place to infer all these ages from the time period where everything takes place. While players do meet a much older Dutch in the first game, he is a far cry from the same person you see later in the prequel, at least at first.

How Long Had The Van Der Linde Gang Been Around?

Dutch And Hosea Formed The Gang Decades Before The Events Of Red Dead Redemption 2

The gang’s roots lie in a fateful meeting between Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews at a campfire on the road to Chicago around the mid-1870s. At the time, the two were small-time hustlers, and Hosea attempted to con and rob Dutch, but realized that Dutch had done the same and stolen from him in the meantime.

Instead of coming to blows over the deception, both recognized the other’s skill and laughed about it before deciding to team up, forming The Van der Linde gang. While neither the game nor the guidebook narrows down the date further, a newspaper clipping in Hosea’s room in Chapter 4 of the game refers to a heist the duo performed in March 1877, suggesting that they were established by then. This places the gang’s formation at 1875 or 1876.

One of Dutch’s main aims for the Van der Linde gang was to find redemption for their past sins by robbing the rich and giving to the poor, similar to the story of Robin Hood. He saw himself as a revolutionary and thought that by only taking from those who they believed deserved it, the gang could be an example to others who would follow their lead.

This clearly worked, as the gang attracted characters from various backgrounds, including a 14-year-old Arthur Morgan and 12-year-old John Marston. Dutch took these two future protagonists under his wing, teaching them to read, write, shoot, and survive.

Unfortunately, as time went on, Dutch’s ideals began to weaken. The group forgot their initial cause of being charitable, and instead started to assist the likes of Leopold Strauss with his loanshark schemes. In essence, they started to target the very same lower-class citizens that they originally wanted to fight for. During the events of Red Dead Redemption 2, Dutch’s leadership begins to unravel, resulting in the deaths of several of his followers and, ultimately, the Van der Linde gang was disbanded in 1899.

Systems

Released

October 26, 2018

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

Engine

RAGE

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Cross-Platform Play

N/A

Cross Save

N/A