Red Dead Online players are understandably frustrated with Rockstar right now. That's because updates for the online multiplayer mode of Red Dead Redemption 2 have slowed to a crawl, though they've been rare since launch, too. Considering the breadth of content Grand Theft Auto Online receives, Red Dead Online players 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 at Rockstar Games. That project is a remastered update of Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand 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 to Red Dead Online players. One of Kotaku's sources says that Rockstar's been shifting resources between the two.
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The mention of Red Dead Online is practically a footnote in Kotaku's report, but is nevertheless quite interesting. It describes how Rockstar is shifting development resources from Red Dead Online to this new Grand Theft Auto remaster project. This decision is "one major reason" why Red Dead Online's receiving fewer and smaller updates. The implication being that Rockstar is moving away from continued support of Red Dead Online as it pursues new projects.
In all fairness to Rockstar, Red Dead Online isn't anywhere near as successful as its Grand Theft Auto franchise. Grand Theft Auto 5 has sold over 150 million copies, though Red Dead Redemption 2's over 38 million copies sold is incredible on its own. While it's more challenging to compare Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online, over the past 30 days on Steam, GTAO has an average of nearly 130,000 players while RDO has just 18,000. And that's just one platform.
Obviously, Kotaku's report is not official by any means and its note about Red Dead Online's development was only provided by a single source. It could be inaccurate. However, Red Dead Online players likely 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 2 and Red Dead Online were 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 experience Red Dead Online is. In the shadow of Grand Theft Auto, however, even Red Dead fans understand the inevitability of Rockstar's priorities.
Red Dead Online is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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Source: Kotaku