Fans of Red Dead Redemption 2 are sure that Arthur would have been less popular with his original design

Red Dead Redemption 2 fans debate how the game would look with Arthur's “ugly” concept design, and almost everyone agrees that it wouldn't be nearly as popular.

When it comes to game protagonists, there are few who are as universally loved as Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2. Although everyone initially assumed he would never be able to match the great John Marston, Morgan's humanity, quick wit, and Roger Clarke's excellent portrayal ultimately set him far above the original gunslinger.

There's a lot to like about Arthur Morgan, but judging by the endless thirst posts and tribute videos I keep seeing about him, his handsome face and classic cowboy charm are a big part of it. But that wasn't always the case, and fans are now wondering what the response to Arthur would have been if he wasn't such a beautiful brick house.

Red Dead Redemption 2 fans are trying to imagine a game with Arthur's “ugly” concept

And yes, he looks like Landon Ricketts

If you're a Rockstar fan, then you probably know that they tend to change the design of their main characters during development. Niko Bellic used to have a really horrible haircut, Michael de Santa was originally supposed to be a bit older, and even Arthur Morgan looked a bit less rough and more perfect in his beta appearance. Well, it was almost much different.

Red Dead Redemption A strange man looking into the camera.

I forgot how disturbing Red Dead Redemption is

To this day, the final chapter of Red Dead Redemption makes me more nervous than most horror games.

The concept art for Red Dead Redemption 2 shows that Arthur was originally intended to be much skinnier and frankly uglier than the handsome cowboy we ended up with. This has been pointed out before, but Redditor Matt-the-Monkey recently brought “Ugly Arthur” back to the Red Dead Redemption subreddit and asked fans if they thought he would still be as popular with this design.

While much of the response points out how eerily similar Arthur looks to Landon Ricketts, there is a fair amount of debate about Arthur's concept and the impact it would have on the game. Redditor no_sight thinks Arthur's original appearance would have led to less debate about whether he was a good guy, while Gloomy_Albatross3043 thinks the final design is a bit too romanticized.

I like his final design, but his concept definitely fits a lot more with who he is and the life he lived.

Meanwhile, Mental_Freedom_1648 thinks that fans who have played the game would still love the character just as much, but that Arthur probably wouldn't be as iconic with a general audience. Considering how easy it is to find tweets and posts about what a nice and handsome boy Arthur is, I can't say I disagree.

Overall, while everyone agrees that Arthur's character is what really matters, it's hard to imagine him being quite as a favorite for its concept design, especially since it probably fits its history even more. As for me, I'm happy with the western Himbo we ended up with and wouldn't change a thing.