Red Dead Redemption 2 fans convinced we're losing Online for good

Red Dead Redemption 2 players are now convinced that Online is shutting down after a new update from Rockstar.

Red Dead Online, the multiplayer component to Rockstar’s 2018 western epic Red Dead Redemption 2, doesn’t get as many updates as GTA Online. But players still enjoy the game nonetheless.

Now, however, players are thinking Rockstar is planning to shutter the multiplayer entirely after a new update.

Check out a trailer for Red Dead Online.

Over on the Rockstar support website, a post created on 12th December, 2024 details the end of user-generated content appearing on the Red Dead Online Social Feed.

In this case, “user-generated content” refers to Friend and Crew activity, Story Mode and Online achievements, and post interactions.

One popular feature in particular that is unusable is the ability to share and download photos using the in-game camera.

The post then emphasises that players are still able to see notifications from Rockstar Games itself.

However, some players have taken this as a warning sign that Red Dead Online may be shutting down in the near future.

On X (formerly Twitter), user Tez2 shared the support post, and players are understandably upset about the potential implications.

One user wrote: “This seems like RedDeadOnline without Red and Online, just Dead.”

“We never got a true ending to the online story and there was still plenty of content that they could have used,” wrote another. “I would have understood if the game didn't sell well.”

Over on Reddit, the sentiment is similar. One user wrote: “60 million copies sold on 3 platforms is not enough to Rockstar, worst management ever, they must think RDR2 was a failure.”

With players theorising that Rockstar could shut down Online, it’s worth noting that the developer uses peer-to-peer matchmaking for its multiplayer rather than dedicated servers.

This means that while some character and leaderboard data is stored on Rockstar’s servers, matchmaking should still effectively work, similar to how Red Dead Redemption’s servers are still active on PS3 and Xbox 360.

As of now, Rockstar has not publicly commented on any possible closure of Red Dead Online.