Take-Two Boss Insists Red Dead Online ‘Has Been Immensely Successful And Long Lasting’
The head of Take-Two has stated that Red Dead Online “has been immensely successful and long lasting” in wake of suggestions that Red Dead Redemption 2‘s online companion was something of a missed opportunity.
Speaking with IGN ahead of the publisher’s latest financial report, Strauss Zelnick made it clear that Take-Two considers Red Dead Online nothing short of a success, pointing to sale of Red Dead Redemption 2, which recently passed the 85 million mark worldwide.
So let me be clear, 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.
I think if we didn’t have Grand Theft Auto here at our company, then people would just talk about the fact that we have this massive franchise in Red Dead, which we do and of which we’re very proud. I actually personally think Red Dead is just amazing and I love engaging with it. And I think the reason it continues to sell is that it’s just spectacular entertainment. It’s beautiful and it feels very up to date despite the fact that it’s not a new title.
Red Dead Online was supported by a wave of post-launch content updates and events, much how like Rockstar kept things in Grand Theft Auto Online ticking over. However, it didn’t see the same type of commitment as GTA Online, with the last major update being 2021’s Blood Money.
Rockstar announced in July 2022 that it wouldn’t be bringing anymore updates for Red Dead Online that year, instead turning its attention to Grand Theft Auto VI. Following this news, fans held a ‘funeral’ of sorts for the game on July 13; fortunately, this would be a bit premature, as more content did eventually materialise.
Fast-forward to August 2025, andRockstar Games unleashed the Strange Tales of the West event, which added four new Telegram Missions including the zombie-themed Strange Tales of the Plague and the sci-fi effort Strange Tales of Modern Science. Right now it’s unknown if Rockstar is planning any further major content rollouts for Red Dead Online.
[Source – IGN]
