Strauss Zelnick, the boss of Rockstar Video games guardian firm Take-Two, has pushed again on the suggestion Red Dead Online was a missed alternative, insisting it “has been immensely profitable and lengthy lasting.”
Red Dead Online is the standalone multiplayer element of Rockstar’s 2018 masterpiece, Red Dead Redemption 2. Whereas Rockstar initially launched vital updates for the sport, the final main content material enlargement for Red Dead Online was the Blood Cash replace launched in July 2021. Since then, Rockstar has targeted on a month-to-month occasion schedule. Final 12 months’s Unusual Tales of the West replace got here as a welcome shock that sparked hope for extra vital updates to come back, however none have materialized.
And so, the consensus amongst its group is that Red Dead Online hasn’t loved fairly the identical quantity of consideration that GTA Online, the multiplayer element of 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V, has. When final month’s Rockstar leak, which got here from a knowledge theft by hackers, revealed that GTA Online eclipses Red Dead Online by way of income and participant numbers, followers weren’t stunned in any respect, with many stating that Red Dead Online hadn’t seen any content material updates in a while, and that it suffers from a big griefing drawback.
Might Red Dead Online have ever matched GTA Online for Take-Two, and may it’s thought of a missed alternative? In a latest interview with IGN forward of its newest monetary report, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick pushed again on the suggestion, pointing to Red Dead Redemption 2’s unbelievable gross sales.
“So let me be clear,” he started, “there’s actually nothing about Red Dead promoting 85 million items that would sign a missed alternative. And Red Dead Online has been immensely profitable and lengthy lasting.”
Zelnick went on to say that the sensation round Red Dead can be very totally different it it weren’t for GTA’s unbelievable success.
“I believe if we did not have Grand Theft Auto right here at our firm, then folks would simply speak about the truth that we’ve this huge franchise in Red Dead, which we do and of which we’re very proud,” he mentioned. “I really personally assume Red Dead is simply superb and I like participating with it. And I believe the explanation it continues to promote is that it is simply spectacular leisure. It is lovely and it feels very updated even supposing it is not a brand new title.”
As a part of Take-Two’s monetary report, it confirmed Red Dead Redemption 2 had now bought over 85 million copies. Which means it has formally overtaken Wii Sports activities to develop into the third best-selling online game of all time, behind solely Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto 5 itself, which has now bought an unbelievable 230 million copies. So whereas GTA 5 has bought 145 million extra copies than Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar’s Wild West journey is one in every of gaming’s largest ever hits.
Nonetheless, the deal with GTA Online over Red Dead Online at Rockstar will in all probability by no means sit effectively with Red Dead Online followers. In keeping with that knowledge leak, Red Dead Online has simply shy of 1 million weekly gamers, which is a large quantity for any sport. It’s an enormous, ongoing reside service that simply doesn’t get significant updates.
Certainly, Red Dead Redemption 2’s ongoing success solely makes Rockstar’s determination to not launch a 60fps patch for the fashionable console model extra baffling. Followers have for a while now known as on the developer to replace the sport on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Sequence X and S, and regardless of varied rumors that such an improve is within the works, Red Dead Redemption 2 stays caught at 30fps on current-gen consoles.
There may be usually speak of Red Dead Redemption 3, which seems like an inevitability. Late final 12 months, Rockstar Video games co-founder and former lead author Dan Houser mentioned Red Dead Redemption 3 “will in all probability occur.” And in 2023, Roger Clark, who performed Arthur Morgan, the protagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2, mentioned he was “sure” followers will see Red Dead Redemption 3 “someday,” however certified that assertion by saying he had no thought when that may be.
Even Hollywood actor Jack Black has had his say, revealing the character he’d like to play in Red Dead Redemption 3 ought to it ever occur.
For now, Rockstar’s consideration is squarely on GTA 6, however possibly as soon as it’s over the launch and no matter’s subsequent for GTA Online is out the door, it’ll revisit its iconic Wild West franchise. And if it does, maybe Rockstar can have a brand new model of Red Dead Online up its sleeve.
Wesley is Director, Information at IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You’ll be able to attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.