Rockstar Halts Red Dead Online Support to Focus on GTA

Rockstar fans have been waiting for a new GTA game for quite a bit now; so much so that it has become a meme. Yet, they also know that Rockstar is working on a new GTA (which would be GTA VI) for some time. Now, Rockstar has confirmed it in an official announcement, but it is not the only thing they’ve said. This time, Rockstar said that they will stop Red Dead Online’s support in order to focus on the GTA franchise.

The company has decided to switch focus following GTA V’s release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Allegedly, said releases have brought more GTA Online players than ever before. Furthermore, they are planning to surpass the fans’ expectations on GTA VI (or whatever they decide to call it). However, they need as many resources as they can get, and that accounts for workers too. 

The developers behind GTA VI have a lot of work left to do for the game to be perfect. So, the company has decided to prioritize it over Red Dead online support system

Future Red Dead online support plans

The plans of halting Red Dead Online support have not surprised the fans, who have seen the company slowly but surely abandoning the game mode. The last major update introduced was Blood Money, almost a year ago, and fans have been feeling abandoned for quite some time.

Nevertheless, RDR Online will not suddenly disappear. Rockstar has plans to keep on implementing new monthly events as the year progresses. 

With both new and experienced players engaging in the wealth of activities already added to this massively rich world including Specialist Roles, story-based cooperative missions, competitive Showdown Modes, and much more, we will continue to showcase these unique additions through Red Dead Online’s monthly events as we move forward

In the same manner, developers plan to keep introducing changes to maintain a proper Red Dead Online environment. Then, they also plan to keep on building on the game modes that have worked in the past. For example, they have disclosed that new telegram missions will be added this year.

GTA franchise plans

So, Rockstar will focus more on the GTA franchise, and we don’t have to wonder why, as GTA V has made more than $6 billion to date. Yet, as the next game of the franchise is still in development, the majority of the disclosed information focuses on GTA Online. 

Rockstar has a lot of things in mind for one of the most popular game modes in the world. The company wants to improve the gameplay experience of the players as much as possible. They want to include the top community-requested improvements and they will surely do so. A new update will expand on different criminal careers (Executive, Biker, Gunrunner, Nightclub owner…) and will include a new set of contact missions that will let you be a special IAA agent. The update will also adjust some weapons, offer better access to snacks and armor and offer better GTA$ payouts.

(MrBossFTW video)

On the other hand, there are now more resources than ever invested in the development of the next GTA game. Rockstar has stated that they need to exceed players’ expectations and that is what they are trying to do. They want a game that is as good as it can be, even if that means cutting Red Dead Online’s support.

In the end, it seems that Rockstar will really be focusing all of its efforts on the GTA franchise. Even if Red Dead is one of their most successful games, from now until GTA VI release, everything is GTA. Do you think this is a good decision or that they should have kept putting effort into RDR Online?

SOURCE: Rockstar official announcement on Red Dead online and GTA future