Strauss Zelnick, the boss of Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two, has pushed back at the suggestion Red Dead Online was a missed opportunity, insisting it “has been immensely successful and long lasting.”
Red Dead Online is the standalone multiplayer component of Rockstar’s 2018 masterpiece, Red Dead Redemption 2. While Rockstar initially released significant updates for the game, the last major content expansion for Red Dead Online was the Blood Money update released in July 2021. Since then, Rockstar has focused on a monthly event schedule. Last year’s Strange Tales of the West update came as a welcome surprise that sparked hope for more significant updates to come, but none have materialized.
And so, the consensus among its community is that Red Dead Online hasn’t enjoyed quite the same amount of attention that GTA Online, the multiplayer component of 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V, has. When last month’s Rockstar leak, which came from a data theft by hackers, revealed that GTA Online eclipses Red Dead Online in terms of revenue and player numbers, fans weren’t surprised at all, with many pointing out that Red Dead Online hadn’t seen any content updates in some time, and that it suffers from a significant griefing problem.
Could Red Dead Online have ever matched GTA Online for Take-Two, and should it be considered a missed opportunity? In a recent interview with IGN ahead of its latest financial report, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick pushed back on the suggestion, pointing to Red Dead Redemption 2’s incredible sales.
“So let me be clear,” he began, “there is literally nothing about Red Dead selling 85 million units that could signal a missed opportunity. And Red Dead Online has been immensely successful and long lasting.”
Zelnick went on to say that the feeling around Red Dead would be very different it it weren’t for GTA’s incredible success.
“I think if we didn’t have Grand Theft Auto here at our company, then people would just talk about the fact that we have this massive franchise in Red Dead, which we do and of which we’re very proud,” he said. “I actually personally think Red Dead is just amazing and I love engaging with it. And I think the reason it continues to sell is that it’s just spectacular entertainment. It’s beautiful and it feels very up to date despite the fact that it’s not a new title.”
As part of Take-Two’s financial report, it confirmed Red Dead Redemption 2 had now sold over 85 million copies. That means it has officially overtaken Wii Sports to become the third best-selling video game of all time, behind only Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto 5 itself, which has now sold an incredible 230 million copies. So while GTA 5 has sold 145 million more copies than Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar’s Wild West adventure is one of gaming’s biggest ever hits.
Still, the focus on GTA Online over Red Dead Online at Rockstar will probably never sit well with Red Dead Online fans. According to that data leak, Red Dead Online has just shy of 1 million weekly players, which is a huge number for any game. It’s a huge, ongoing live service that just doesn’t get meaningful updates.
Indeed, Red Dead Redemption 2’s ongoing success only makes Rockstar’s decision not to release a 60fps patch for the modern console version more baffling. Fans have for some time now called on the developer to update the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, and despite various rumors that such an upgrade is in the works, Red Dead Redemption 2 remains stuck at 30fps on current-gen consoles.
There is often talk of Red Dead Redemption 3, which feels like an inevitability. Late last year, Rockstar Games co-founder and former lead writer Dan Houser said Red Dead Redemption 3 “will probably happen.” And in 2023, Roger Clark, who played Arthur Morgan, the protagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2, said he was “certain” fans will see Red Dead Redemption 3 “one day,” but qualified that statement by saying he had no idea when that would be.
Even Hollywood actor Jack Black has had his say, revealing the character he’d love to play in Red Dead Redemption 3 should it ever happen.
For now, Rockstar’s attention is squarely on GTA 6, but maybe once it’s over the launch and whatever’s next for GTA Online is out the door, it will revisit its iconic Wild West franchise. And if it does, perhaps Rockstar will have a new version of Red Dead Online up its sleeve.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
