It feels like every single headline I’ve seen recently in a story about Rockstar has includedGrand Theft Auto Onlinesomehow. With the massively popular multiplayer component ofGrand Theft Auto Vreleasing as a stand-alone game recently, it’s no surprise that Rockstar is going all-in on it.GTA Onlinehas been around since 2013, whenGTA Vlaunched. And it didn’t just retain a player base, but grew it larger and larger.
GTA+ is the be-all and end-all of that, the four-carat diamond ring planted on the online game’s finger that says “you’re my forever.” It offers players (specifically those on Xbox Series X/S or PS5) a ton of free rewards, from $500,000 in GTA bucks in their in-game bank accounts to entire properties needed to take part in certain pieces of content.
But what GTA+ tells me about Rockstar’s future commitments isn’t that it’s all aboutGTA Online; it’s thatRed Dead Onlineis dead in the dust.
Into the yonder
Red Dead Online‘s declinehas been a slow and painful one, like a ship sinking in slow motion. I’ve always been a big fan of the game, mostly thanks to its atmosphere. WhereasGTA VandGTA Onlinecapture Rockstar’s take on the fake people of Los Angeles with plastic visuals,Red Dead Onlinebleeds realism. From the grizzled faces of the outlaws I gunned down to the gorgeous sunsets I saw,Red Dead Onlinealways had an iron grip on me.
Red Dead Onlinedidn’t let you take part in any bank robberies, it didn’t have unique multiplayer games, and it didn’t have purchasable properties. All of that was saved forGTA Online.RDOsimply got the scraps.
The truth of the matter is thatRDO‘s decline was a self-perpetuating cycle. AsGTA Onlinegrew more popular, Rockstar had more of a reason to invest in it rather than its cowboy counterpart.RDOthen had less and less content, driving more players away whileGTA Online‘s base continued to grow. See where this is going? In a way,RDOwas doomed from the start.
While GTA+ is a huge investment in the future ofGTA Online, it’s also the final nail inRDO‘s coffin. The subscription service is the next natural step forGTA Online, one that’s leaps and bounds past whereRDOhas been for years. WhileGTA Onlinewas getting new heists,RDOwas getting the same job-based bonuses it’s getting to this day. Well, not exactly. Those used to come weekly forRDO.Now they come monthly.
Truth be told, none of this would be as bad ifGTA Onlinewere actually radically different from RDO, but they’re largely the same experience. They both have missions (GTA Onlinehas a great many more), they both ask players to transport goods over long distances, they both require a disgusting amount of grinding to reach worthwhile content.
But now, by paying $6 a month, you can slowly get access toGTA Online‘s good content. With just $6, you can get a free car, free clothes, free paint jobs, free buildings — all these free, fun things thatRDOcould never offer you because Rockstar never really invested in it. Since 2013, Rockstar has known thatGTA Onlinewas a winner, andRDOwas an experiment to see if lightning could strike twice. It didn’t, and now there’s hardly a reason to play cowboys with your friends inRDO‘s Old West at all.
