Save Red Dead Online Campaign Gets The Attention Of Take-Two CEO

The Save Red Dead Online campaign has finally gotten the attention of the bigwigs at Take-Two Interactive, specifically CEO Strauss Zelnick. But he sadly couldn't do anything about it, he says.

(Photo : Photo from Rockstar Games' Website)

According to GamesRadar, Zelnick has said he "understands the frustration" about the problems surrounding Red Dead Online, which is why the campaign has been garnering support in the first place. He made this statement ahead of the company's upcoming earnings call, though he also said that any decision to update Red Dead Online will be Rockstar Games' decision and not Take-Two's.

Here's what Zelnick has to say about the whole situation:

"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."

So many have been posting with the hashtag #SaveRedDeadOnline, claiming that the Wild West multiplayer title is more or less neglected compared to GTA Online. According to IGN, the campaign has trended on Twitter, Reddit, and other social channels since January, after the announcement of new Red Dead Online content that people felt wasn't enough.

But even if there was continued clamor for bigger, more substantial content, Rockstar has still seemingly neglected Red Dead Online since. Only a handful of small updates have been released ever since the campaign became full swing.

This neglect of Red Dead Online has also been happening despite the continued success of Red Dead Redemption 2. As per the most recent Take-Two Interactive earnings call, it was revealed that RDR2 has already sold more than 44 million units globally. The company says this number is well above their initial expectations.

Meanwhile GTA Online still sees even way more content considering it's a much older game than RDR2 (it came out way back in 2013 during the tail-end of the PS3/Xbox 360 generation). Red Dead Online, on the other hand, came with the release of RDR2 in 2018 - a full five years after GTA V.

Save Red Dead Online: What's The State Of The Game Right Now?

A quick comparison of what GTA Online and Red Dead Online has got in terms of updates will make you understand why the community is so frustrated with Rockstar.

Ever since Red Dead Online went live almost four years ago, its more modern cousin has been given seven massive updates by Rockstar Games, writes GamesRadar. This includes the Diamond Casino Heist, the Cayo Perico Heist, and the series of missions called The Contract featuring rap legend Dr. Dre. Not to mention, GTA Online also gets weekly events that give players access to new content like weapons, properties, and more rewards on missions.

What has RDO gotten in the same span of time? Well, it did get six "major updates" in the form of new missions, new roles, and weapons. But its big mistake was switching weekly events onto a monthly basis, as well as not delivering on a big update last December.

This is what spurred the community to do the campaign, in the hopes of getting the attention of those who could do something. Their efforts, however, will need to be even more intense.

Story posted on GameNGuide

Written by RJ Pierce