Rockstar Games dropped a huge newswire on Friday - huge not only in the sense they finally announced the development of the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series (GTA 6?), but also because they chose to entirely ignore the Red Dead Online community.
"We are pleased to confirm that active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series is well underway" - Rockstar Games
Previously, the yearly "thank you" newswire would celebrate the success of both GTA Online and Red Dead Online; even going as far as to tease some of the upcoming content later in the year. However, this year it seems Rockstar is choosing to further distance itself from the Red Dead community - the last time they have communicated about Red Dead Online's future was the announcement of the Blood Money update (almost a year ago).
Red Dead Online: End of the line?
It's plain to see that Red Dead Online hasn't been shown much attention by Rockstar over the last few months. This seeming abandonment sparked the #SaveRedDeadOnline movement on Twitter, bringing huge media attention - but no comment from Rockstar.
With Take 2's investor call on Monday 7th February, fans were anticipating Rockstar communicating with the community regarding Red Dead Online's future, but no such conversation occurred - another nail in Red Dead Online's coffin?
Last December marked the first year in which Red Dead Online only received a single DLC since its launch and a look at Rockstar's announced plans for 2022 may reveal why.
Other Priorities for Rockstar
The launch of GTA V Expanded & Enhanced is imminent (March 15th) and is likely the utmost priority for Rockstar at the moment.
Rockstar will also want to ensure GTA Online receives substantial updates post GTAV E&E launch - especially considering the simultaneous release of a standalone GTA Online for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
It's easy to see Rockstar are pooling resources into the busy timeline centered around GTA this year - of course, we mustn't forget production of GTA 6 is also fully underway and likely to be further detracting resources from Red Dead Online.
This issue also doesn’t stop with Red Dead Online - the GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition has not received a patch for over 2 months, despite a lot of issues still being present. Again, with no communication from Rockstar, despite their promises to continue to support the games.
What's next?
It would be easier for Red Dead Online fans to feel slightly less negative if Rockstar took the time to communicate the issues they are currently experiencing in providing enough resources to develop future updates.
I wouldn't expect any updates to Red Dead Online until after the launch of GTAV E&E and even then a few more months considering an update is highly unlikely to be in active development currently. Best case scenario Rockstar releases an update in the summer as usual, but with the launch of GTA 6 beginning to loom is it time to say goodbye to the Wild West?
"With the launch of GTA 6 beginning to loom is it time to say goodbye to the Wild West?"
As always, we won't truly know what the months ahead hold until we hear from Rockstar Games - Stay tuned to GTA Base where we'll bring you all the latest news regarding Red Dead Online's uncertain future.
