Red Dead Onlineplayers are understandably frustrated with Rockstar right now. That’s because updates for the online multiplayer mode ofRed Dead Redemption 2have slowed to a crawl, though they’ve been rare since launch, too. Considering the breadth of contentGrand Theft Auto Onlinereceives,Red Dead Onlineplayers wouldn’t be off-base to believe Rockstar’s shifted development away from the game. And according to at least one new report, that appears to be what’s actually happened.
A new report from Kotaku delves into a new project being developed atRockstar Games. That project is a remastered update ofGrand Theft Auto 3,Grand Theft Auto Vice City, andGrand Theft Auto San Andreas. While that’s an exciting revelation on its own, it’s the development of these remasters and their tie to other Rockstar projects that will be concerning toRed Dead Onlineplayers. One of Kotaku’s sources says that Rockstar’s been shifting resources between the two.
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The mention ofRed Dead Onlineis practically a footnote in Kotaku’s report, but is nevertheless quite interesting. It describes how Rockstar is shifting development resources fromRed Dead Onlineto this newGrand Theft Autoremaster project. This decision is “one major reason” whyRed Dead Online’s receiving fewer and smaller updates. The implication being that Rockstar is moving away from continued support ofRed Dead Onlineas it pursues new projects.
In all fairness to Rockstar,Red Dead Onlineisn’t anywhere near as successful as itsGrand Theft Autofranchise.Grand Theft Auto 5has sold over 150 million copies, thoughRed Dead Redemption 2’s over 38 million copies sold is incredible on its own. While it’s more challenging to compareGrand Theft Auto OnlineandRed Dead Online, over the past 30 days on Steam,GTAOhas an average of nearly 130,000 players whileRDOhas just 18,000. And that’s just one platform.
Obviously, Kotaku’s report is not official by any means and its note aboutRed Dead Online’s development was only provided by a single source. It could be inaccurate. However,Red Dead Onlineplayerslikely already know the truth of the situation regardless of the report. Updates truly have been released more slowly and when they arrive they’re often smaller than prior. The writing’s on the wall.
Red Dead Redemption 2andRed Dead Onlinewere released around three years ago. For most games, that’s a very healthy lifespan. In the age of live-service titles lasting years and years, it may seem disappointingly short, especially given what a special experienceRed Dead Onlineis.In the shadow ofGrand Theft Auto, however, evenRed Deadfans understand the inevitability of Rockstar’s priorities.
Red Dead Onlineis available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
