{"id":1955924,"date":"2026-05-26T15:46:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1955924"},"modified":"2026-05-26T15:46:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:46:27","slug":"take-two-boss-refutes-red-dead-online-missed-opportunity-allegations-as-rdr2-passes-a-huge-sales-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1955924","title":{"rendered":"Take-Two boss refutes Red Dead Online &#8220;missed opportunity&#8221; allegations, as RDR2 passes a huge sales milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Take-Two boss refutes Red Dead Online &#8220;missed opportunity&#8221; allegations, as RDR2 passes a huge sales milestone<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Way to stirrup the playerbase.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/sc8sqi.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Reading a map in Red Dead Online\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"sc8sqi.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Rockstar Games<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-05-26T15:46:27+00:00\">May 26, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"a06f4c23-03ba-44bc-a68b-f796ee33e47d\" data-name=\"Red Dead Online\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Red Dead Online\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Red Dead Online\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Red Dead Online\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Red Dead Online\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Red Dead Online\" title=\"Follow Red Dead Online\"><br \/>\n  Follow Red Dead Online<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Despite Red Dead Online not receiving updates for years and feeling abandoned in comparison to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/gta-online\">Grand Theft Auto Online<\/a>, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick thinks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/red-dead-redemption-2\">Red Dead Redemption 2<\/a>&#8216;s multiplayer component has been a success by all accounts.<\/p>\n<p>Red Dead Online stopped getting significant support in July 2021 with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/rockstar-details-red-dead-onlines-blood-money-update-with-new-trailer\">the Blood Money update<\/a>, with Rockstar confirming a year later it had moved away from Red Dead Online to focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/grand-theft-auto-vi\">GTA 6<\/a> and GTA Online. Regardless, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/red-dead-redemption-2-walkthrough-guide-4975\">RDR2<\/a> was (and still is) a huge game by all accounts, recently surpassing 85m sales and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/red-dead-redemption-2-overtakes-wii-sports-in-best-selling-games-of-all-time-list\">becoming the third best-selling video game release<\/a>, according to Take-Two&#8217;s latest financial report.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Red Dead Online - Official Blood Money Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PRYLSDtjo0U?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/PRYLSDtjo0U\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Red Dead Online &#8211; Official Blood Money Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Red Dead Online &#8211; Official Blood Money Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PRYLSDtjo0U\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Given the size of that audience, does the lack of an actively developed Red Dead Online constitute something of a missed opportunity? No, not according to Strauss Zelnick. &#8220;So let me be clear,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/take-two-ceo-pushes-back-against-suggestion-red-dead-online-was-a-missed-opportunity\">Zelnick told IGN<\/a>, &#8220;there is literally nothing about Red Dead selling 85 million units that could signal a missed opportunity. And Red Dead Online has been immensely successful and long lasting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Zelnick also pointed out that things would be different if GTA wasn&#8217;t a part of Rockstar and Take-Two&#8217;s portfolio. &#8220;I think if we didn&#8217;t have Grand Theft Auto here at our company, then people would just talk about the fact that we have this massive franchise in Red Dead, which we do and of which we&#8217;re very proud,&#8221; Zelnick said.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/gta-online-daily-revenue-data-and-more-leaks\">hackers gained access to Rockstar data and company information<\/a>, revealing, among other things, that Red Dead Online was making the developer and Take-Two around $500k per week nearly eight years after RDR2&#8217;s launch. But while that might sound impressive, GTA Online is still pushing around $9.5m on average each week. Therefore, it makes sense the older multiplayer sandbox continues to get more developer support.<\/p>\n<p>Rockstar did, however, release some new content for Red Dead Online with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/red-dead-online-fans-react-with-surprise-and-delight-as-rockstar-releases-new-missions-sparking-even-more-speculation-about-red-dead-redemption-2\">Strange Tales of the West<\/a> update, but an official return to the open-world western&#8217;s online mode now that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/gta-6-release-date-reaffirmed\">development on GTA 6 is nearing release<\/a> is not confirmed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Despite Red Dead Online not receiving updates for years and feeling abandoned in comparison to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/gta-online\">Grand Theft Auto Online<\/a>, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick thinks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/red-dead-redemption-2\">Red Dead Redemption 2<\/a>&#8216;s multiplayer component has been a success by all accounts.<\/p>\n<p>Red Dead Online stopped getting significant support in July 2021 with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/rockstar-details-red-dead-onlines-blood-money-update-with-new-trailer\">the Blood Money update<\/a>, with Rockstar confirming a year later it had moved away from Red Dead Online to focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/grand-theft-auto-vi\">GTA 6<\/a> and GTA Online. Regardless, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/red-dead-redemption-2-walkthrough-guide-4975\">RDR2<\/a> was (and still is) a huge game by all accounts, recently surpassing 85m sales and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/red-dead-redemption-2-overtakes-wii-sports-in-best-selling-games-of-all-time-list\">becoming the third best-selling video game release<\/a>, according to Take-Two&#8217;s latest financial report.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Red Dead Online - Official Blood Money Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PRYLSDtjo0U?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/PRYLSDtjo0U\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Red Dead Online &#8211; Official Blood Money Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Red Dead Online &#8211; Official Blood Money Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PRYLSDtjo0U\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Given the size of that audience, does the lack of an actively developed Red Dead Online constitute something of a missed opportunity? No, not according to Strauss Zelnick. &#8220;So let me be clear,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/take-two-ceo-pushes-back-against-suggestion-red-dead-online-was-a-missed-opportunity\">Zelnick told IGN<\/a>, &#8220;there is literally nothing about Red Dead selling 85 million units that could signal a missed opportunity. And Red Dead Online has been immensely successful and long lasting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Zelnick also pointed out that things would be different if GTA wasn&#8217;t a part of Rockstar and Take-Two&#8217;s portfolio. &#8220;I think if we didn&#8217;t have Grand Theft Auto here at our company, then people would just talk about the fact that we have this massive franchise in Red Dead, which we do and of which we&#8217;re very proud,&#8221; Zelnick said.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/gta-online-daily-revenue-data-and-more-leaks\">hackers gained access to Rockstar data and company information<\/a>, revealing, among other things, that Red Dead Online was making the developer and Take-Two around $500k per week nearly eight years after RDR2&#8217;s launch. But while that might sound impressive, GTA Online is still pushing around $9.5m on average each week. Therefore, it makes sense the older multiplayer sandbox continues to get more developer support.<\/p>\n<p>Rockstar did, however, release some new content for Red Dead Online with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/red-dead-online-fans-react-with-surprise-and-delight-as-rockstar-releases-new-missions-sparking-even-more-speculation-about-red-dead-redemption-2\">Strange Tales of the West<\/a> update, but an official return to the open-world western&#8217;s online mode now that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/gta-6-release-date-reaffirmed\">development on GTA 6 is nearing release<\/a> is not confirmed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Take-Two boss refutes Red Dead Online &#8220;missed opportunity&#8221; allegations, as RDR2 passes a huge sales milestone Way to stirrup the playerbase. Image credit: Rockstar Games News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on May 26, 2026 Follow Red Dead Online Despite Red Dead Online not receiving updates for years and feeling abandoned in comparison [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1955924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1955924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955924\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1955924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1955924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1955924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}