It’s always a sad day when a beloved online game shuts down. Unfortunately forRed Dead Onlineplayers, the possibility seems to be growing increasingly likely. Rockstar intends to keep the servers running and continue hosting seasonal events for some time. However, the studio has made it clear that the MMO is on life support, and itsshifting developers to work on the upcomingGrand Theft Auto 6.However,Red Dead Onlinefans aren’t the only ones mourning the game’s inevitable death. In a recent tweet, the actor forRed Dead Redemption 2’s Arthur Morgan expressed his empathy for the fans.RELATED:Red Dead Online Players Upset With July 2022 Update“Although today it has my sympathies I know this community will never die,” said Arthur Morgan’s actor Roger Clark on Twitter. Members of theRed Dead Onlinecommunity greatly appreciated the actor’s expression of support. “Thank you Roger,” one Twitter user replied, “Arthur himself showing support feels good.” Others shared a similar sentiment. And while not everyone knew aboutRed Dead Online’s fan-hosted funeral, those who were aware of the situation generally seemed appreciative of Clark’s statement.
Red Dead Online’s funeral occurred today,with #RedDeadFuneral trending on Twitteras fans said their preemptive goodbyes. To be clear, Rockstar hasn’t taken the game down yet and won’t be any time soon. However,Red Dead Onlinehasn’t gotten any new content since July 2021, and there’s not likely to be any new content coming down the pipeline. Players still have planned seasonal events and potential patches to look forward to, but Rockstar likely won’t be committing more than the minimal amount necessary to maintainRed Dead Online.
Things may not be all bad, as some MMOs have and continue to carry on in maintenance mode for many years. Players can still log intoold MMOs like the originalGuild Warsfrom 2005, and while its cities may be sparsely populated, the game worlds may not be entirely abandoned. However, it’s still hard to characterize some of these games as anything other than dead. It may only be a matter of time beforeRed Dead Online’s player base goes into an irreversible decline, and there’s no guarantee that it will achieve a similarly long afterlife.
There are also concerns that the days may be numbered for theRed Deadfranchise as a whole. WhileRed Dead Redemption 2andRed Dead Onlinewere financially successful, they didn’t come close to the incredible popularity ofGrand Theft Auto 5andGTA Online. Thus, some are concerned thatRockstar might ignoreRed Deadin favor of the more profitableGrand Theft Auto. For now, though, it’s not too late forRed Deadfans to fit in a few more adventures in the wild west.
Red Dead Onlineis available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
