But can horses outsell Porsches?
Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games have announced that they are pleased with the performance ofRed Dead Online, the multiplayer portion of their blockbuster open-world sequelRed Dead Redemption 2. Given its success, the team has announced that they are about ready to releaseRed Dead Onlinefrom its beta corral.
Speaking during a quarterly earnings call(as reported by Eurogamer) Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said thatRed Dead Onlineis currently performing better thanGrand Theft Auto Onlinewas 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 Onlinewould, as we all know, go on to become ahugebank-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 getRed Dead Onlineup-and-running at the nearest opportunity. And it appears that they intend to do just that, as Zelnick noted thatRed Dead Onlineshould 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 ofGTA Onlineremains to be seen. While similar in gameplay design, there is an aesthetic inRed 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 2is available now on PS4, PC and Xbox One.
Red Dead Online “performing better” than GTA Online at same stage[Eurogamer]
