Is Red Dead Online shutting down in 2023?

Red Dead Online is entering its fourth year, but it’s no secret that its support and player base is dwindling. So is Red Dead Online shutting down in 2023?

Red Dead Online launched as an online component to Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Similar to the single-player game, Red Dead Online can be played in both first and third-person modes, with players free to roam open world environment. Its gameplay features shootouts, NPCs, hunting, horseback riding and creating your own character. Players can maintain their character’s honor rating through completing moral choices and deeds, be it good or bad.

The game operates similarly to Rockstar’s other online venture, GTA Online, though many have criticized the studio for not giving Red Dead Online as much care and attention as GTA Online. After facing calls from players expressing their concerns over the game’s future, Rockstar issued a statement in July 2022.

Rockstar thanked the Red Dead Online community for its “continued support and dedication,” but said it was shifting its focus

to developing GTA 6.

“Over the past few years, we have been steadily moving more development resources towards the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series,” the official statement read, “and as a result, we are in the process of making some changes to how we support Red Dead Online.”

It was confirmed that Red Dead Online would not be receiving any more major updates. However, smaller monthly events and seasonal activities would continue. The support for the game is a stark difference to that of GTA Online, which continues to receive major content and story updates and maintains a healthy player count.

So what does this mean for the game’s future? It certainly sounds like a death knell.

Is Red Dead Online shutting down in 2023?

At the time of writing, Rockstar has not confirmed that Red Dead Online will be shutting down in 2023. However, as the studio previously stated, there will not be any more major content updates heading to the game.

According to Steam Charts, the game averaged around 2,218 players in the last 30 days, reaching a peak of 4,182. Red Dead Online reached an all-time peak of 18,417 on Steam back in 2020.

While these are only the PC numbers, should the player count drop too low on a consistent basis there’s a chance Rockstar will reconsider its continuing support for Red Dead Online.