The Red Dead Online Community Is Embracing the Game’s Inevitable Death

ign.com:

The Red Dead Online community had started planning a funeral for the game, to coincide with the anniversary of the game’s last major update. They didn't know that it would be officially declared dead in advance.

On July 7, 2022, Rockstar Games pushed an update to its Newswire, confirming that Red Dead Online would not receive any more “major themed content updates,” as the studio shifts development resources onto Grand Theft Auto 6.

The news came less than a week before July 13, the one-year anniversary of Red Dead Online’s last major update, Blood Money, which brought a smattering of missions, a dubious in-game currency, and The Quick Draw Club, a rapid-fire monthly iteration of Red Dead Online’s existing battle pass. You could argue the writing was on the wall last year, but that doesn’t make the news sting any less. The sun is officially beginning to set on the digital Old West, just three years after launch.

“Honestly, it felt prophetic”, said Magnar, who runs the community hub @RedDeadRDC, and posted about the plan to hold a funeral - which takes place in-game today. “It just felt like something had to give, but I’m glad they finally announced it so players who were waiting can have the closure to either move on from RDO or carry on as they were.”

The good news for fans is that Rockstar has committed to maintaining Red Dead Online for the time being, with the monthly tweaks and seasonal events that dedicated players know all too well. The bad news is that a passionate, creative community has had its gorgeous virtual home put on life support, and the palliative care will not be permanent.

We spoke to a number of the game's most committed fans about what it feels like to know that the game they love is inevitably on the