The online mode of Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online, started sluggishly in 2018. But now it has record player numbers, according to Take-Two. The game gained momentum in December 2019, and it went up again in January 2020. However, Take-Two does not want to draw a comparison to GTA Online.
Where was that said? Take-Two had an earnings call on Thursday afternoon (US time) and spoke with investors about the results of the quarter ending December 31, 2019, as well as about the outlook for the future. An important topic there: “Red Dead Online.”
At launch, Red Dead Online stumbled
Here was the situation with Red Dead Online: Red Dead Redemption 2 was a mega-hit as a single-player game in 2018 on PS4 and Xbox One. However, it quickly became clear that there would be no more story or offline content for the game.
Rockstar only wanted to develop Red Dead Online, as they had previously phased out GTA 5 to focus on GTA Online with content.
The multiplayer mode Red Dead Online launched on November 27, 2018, but offered very few contents. The online mode was still in beta and quite buggy. It was said that the mode would be developed over time and gain traction.
In 2019, there was little news about Red Dead Online for a long time. Only in September 2019 did it finally kick off with a major update: it brought the roles of Trader, Collector, and Bounty Hunter to Red Dead Online.
The Moonshiners update drives player numbers to record highs
This is what Take-Two says now:
- Red Dead Online achieved a new record in player numbers in December 2019, after the “Moonshiners update” with regard to the “simultaneously active players”
- This record was surpassed again in January 2020
- If you exclude the digital bundle with Red Dead Redemption 2, revenues for Red Dead Online in the last quarter nearly tripled compared to the previous year
Take-Two does not mention it, but these records are surely also due to the fact that Red Dead Redemption 2 has been available on Steam since December 2019. Apparently, some PC players waited a month longer to purchase Red Dead Redemption 2 to play it on Valve’s popular platform.
Take-Two shies away from comparison with GTA Online
Will Red Dead Online take off like GTA Online? One question from analysts at the conference was whether Take-Two believes that Red Dead Online will become a mega success like GTA Online and can grow over six years.
However, Take-Two answers this comparison cautiously. They will not go into detail.
The CEO of Take-Two, Strauss H. Zelnick, stated that they are “incredibly excited” about the momentum they are now seeing in Red Dead Online and look forward to the future.
However, they could not foresee the success of GTA Online and neither can they do so with Red Dead Online:
“We have no way of knowing where the customers will lead us. What we do know is that we need to deliver a lot of great content.”
Strauss H. Zelnick
Zelnick says that if they deliver great content for the beloved game brands, then customers would come, play, and stay engaged. Therefore, they are “very optimistic” about the future of Red Dead Online.
