Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has finally answered concerns from the vocal “Save Red Dead Online” community, noting that he acknowledges its frustrations. The hashtag #SaveRedDeadOnline movement on Twitter began in January this year after fans were disappointed with the lack of content updates planned in Red Dead Online, particularly when compared to GTA Online.
Take-Two still hasn’t announced any new major content for Red Dead Online
After months of no response from Take-Two, Zelnick commented that he is aware of the movement during a quarterly earnings call with IGN:
“Rockstar Games talks about the updates that are coming, and we’re working on an awful lot at Rockstar Games. I’ve heard the frustration, it’s flattering that they want more content, and more will be said by Rockstar in due time.”
An update to this story, Take-Two has reached out to follow up and clarify that Zelnick's affirmation of T2's ongoing support for Red Dead is with regards to keeping the servers online only, and Rockstar is entirely in charge of content. #SaveRedDeadOnlinehttps://t.co/quc9iJBiuD
— Rebekah Valentine @ GDC (@duckvalentine) May 16, 2022
Since the statement, some fans have hoped that this meant that more significant updates are planned for Red Dead Online, but Take-Two has since clarified (via the tweet posted above) that Zelnick was “solely referring to the online servers.” The publisher reaffirmed that it is Rockstar that is in charge of content updates, seemingly distancing itself from the original comment.
The #SaveRedDeadOnline campaign began trending earlier this year as a reaction to a press release on the official Rockstar Games website that didn’t provide any significant details on future content for the game, apart from bonus XP and Gold Bars opportunities. The last main update to Red Dead Online was Blood Money in July 2021 that expanded on the criminal underworld in Saint Denis. Since then, GTA Online received a Los Santos Tuners patch with new street races and auto shops, the story-focused expansion The Contract with Dr. Dre, and a new Adversary Mode featuring Franklin and Lamar.
According to Steam Charts, the number of concurrent players for Red Dead Online has fallen sharply over the last year. In the month when Blood Money was released, there was an average of 3,741 players, but for April 2022, that has dropped by nearly half to about 1,955 players.
In other news on Take-Two, the company has no plans to discuss a potential deal with FIFA have its split with EA, and while it will listen to buyout offers, the company prefers independence.
