But can horses outsell Porsches?
Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games have announced that they are pleased with the performance of Red Dead Online, the multiplayer portion of their blockbuster open-world sequel Red Dead Redemption 2. Given its success, the team has announced that they are about ready to release Red Dead Online from its beta corral.
Speaking during a quarterly earnings call (as reported by Eurogamer) Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said that Red Dead Online is currently performing better than Grand Theft Auto Online was during the same early stage of its life. It should be noted that no source of measurement was given for this statement however, with Zelnick gleaning the comparison from “the initial release and the movement into beta.”
GTA Online would, as we all know, go on to become a huge bank-maker for Rockstar and Take-Two, thanks to its reliance on in-game purchases and “Shark Card” sales. It stands to reason that the publisher would want to get Red Dead Online up-and-running at the nearest opportunity. And it appears that they intend to do just that, as Zelnick noted that Red Dead Online should be leaving beta “in the current quarter”, so by June, essentially.
As to whether the wild, wild, west proves ultimately as profitable as the joyriding cityscapes of GTA Online remains to be seen. While similar in gameplay design, there is an aesthetic in Red Dead – not to mention a lack of garish fashions, slick land, sea and air vehicles, and bangin’ choons – that might not appeal en masse to the same crowd that spend dollar on the more relatable “modern world” of GTA.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now on PS4, PC and Xbox One.
Red Dead Online “performing better” than GTA Online at same stage [Eurogamer]