Red Dead Online was “immensely successful”, says Take-Two CEO, even if it didn’t generate GTA Online revenue

Red Dead Redemption 2/Red Dead Online gameplay footage

Published:

27 May 2026

Last Updated: 27 May 2026

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Red Dead Online, the online component of Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2, didn’t become the cultural impact that its predecessor GTA Online became. Nevertheless, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has confirmed that the online component of the video game Western was a huge success.

Speaking to IGN, Zelnick commented on leaked information that revealed how much money Red Dead Online made compared to GTA V’s online component. While revenue is substantially lower, the online mode was not a financial disappointment.

“Let me be clear, there is literally nothing about Red Dead selling 85 million units that could signal a missed opportunity,” the CEO explained. “And Red Dead Online has been immensely successful and long lasting.”

Zelnick explained that, if it wasn’t for the huge success of GTA Online, Red Dead Online would have been heralded as a massive success for the company. However, GTA’s unparalleled success and longevity makes it impossible to beat, and the CEO knows that.

“I think that if we didn’t have Grand Theft Auto here at out company, then people would just talk about the fact that we have this massive franchise in Red Dead,” he said. “Which we do. And of which we’re very proud. I actually personally think Red Dead is just amazing and I love engaging with it.”

Zelnick explained that the continued sales success of Red Dead Redemption 2 is due to the fact that it’s simply a spectacular game. “I think the reason it continues to sell is that it’s just spectacular entertainment,” he said. “It’s beautiful and it feels very up to date despite the fact that it’s not a new title.” I mean, how many games do we see compared to RDR2 on release? All of them.

Since launch, Red Dead Redemption 2 has become the third best-selling video game of all time, behind Minecraft and the aforementioned GTA V. However, unlike GTA V, the game has still not received an upgrade for current-gen hardware, keeping the game at 30fps on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles.

Nevertheless, there is hope from fans that there will be an update for Red Dead Redemption 2, as well as a port to Nintendo Switch 2. As of right now, there have been leaks pointing to a Switch 2 port, but nothing official has been announced.

As for the future of Red Dead, there is no evidence that Red Dead Redemption 3 is in any form of early development. However, after Rockstar’s GTA 6 releases at the end of this year, the studio could work on another game in the series.

About The Author

Lewis White

Lewis White is a veteran games journalist with over a decade in the field. Starting with beloved Xbox website ICXM/XboxMAD, Lewis became the Gaming Editor at MSPoweruser before becoming the Editor in Chief of StealthOptional and Gfinityesports. Lewis later jumped to By Gamers For Gamers where he jumped to become EIC of VideoGamer and the host of the New VideoGamer Podcast prior to the website’s acquisition.

Over the years, Lewis has also seen long-form investigative pieces published in outlets such as Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, Retro Gamer, Nintendo Life, and EDGE. Now, as the Editor in Chief of FRVR Blog, Lewis strives to bring the same level of quality journalism with interview-led content to the site in both written and audio form with the FRVR Podcast.

With a First Degree BA Hons in Games Journalism and Public Relations, Lewis has been a stable part of the British games press for over a decade, and has frequently displayed his love of Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and other games pretty much everywhere he’s worked. And FRVR is no different.

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