Take-Two says Red Dead Online earned more credit than fans give it
Strauss Zelnick said Red Dead Online's 85 million-unit franchise and long run do not point to a missed opportunity.
Take-Two is not backing down on Red Dead Online. CEO Strauss Zelnick said the multiplayer mode was not a wasted bet, even though many fans have long felt it lived in Grand Theft Auto Online’s shadow.
Red Dead Online launched about a month after Red Dead Redemption 2 reached shelves, and Rockstar’s support eventually slowed after the 2021 Dead Money expansion. The mode also got a short burst of attention in 2025, when Rockstar added new missions again in a 2025 mission update, but the debate around its long-term future never really went away.
When asked by IGN whether he saw Red Dead Online as a missed opportunity, Zelnick said, “There is literally nothing about Red Dead selling 85 million units that could signal a missed opportunity. And Red Dead Online has been immensely successful and long-lasting.” He added that if Grand Theft Auto were not part of the company, people would focus more on Red Dead as one of Take-Two’s biggest franchises.
Red Dead Redemption 2 remains one of the best-selling games ever, but the online mode never matched GTA Online’s update pace or scale, which is why the conversation around what Rockstar might have done with it still hangs around.
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Red Dead Online
Developed by Rockstar Games
Step into the vibrant, ever-evolving world of Red Dead Online and experience life in frontier America. Chase down bounties, battle outlaw gangs and other players, hunt, fish and trade, search for exotic treasures, run Moonshine, and much more to discover in a world of astounding depth and detail.
- Genre: Shooter, Simulator, Adventure
- Platforms: Google Stadia, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One
- Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Release: 2019-05-15
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
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Age Rating:
GRAC 19+ / CERO Z / ACB MA 15+ / PEGI 18 / ESRB M
- IGDB Rating: 71.6/100
