It’s easy to forget how long it’s been since the last time Rockstar released a totally new Grand Theft Auto game. GTA 5 came out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in September 2013, with its standalone multiplayer mode Grand Theft Auto Online launching a few months later.
However, after almost a decade of support on seventh-generation consoles, Grand Theft Auto Online will soon depart the platforms. Rockstar plans to shut down the servers for the 360 and PS3 versions tomorrow, December 16.
This event should not be much of a surprise, as Rockstar Games announced the impending shut down in June of this year. In addition to shutting down the servers, Rockstar will stop selling Shark Cash Cards for the seventh-gen versions of GTA Online. The publisher will also be shutting down the Rockstar Games Social Club features for those versions of GTA Online and other games. These include leaderboards, multiplayer, and stat tracking for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Grand Theft Auto 5, Grand Theft Auto Online, Max Payne 3, and L.A. Noire.
Importantly, Rockstar confirmed that 360 and PS3 players can still experience the single-player content for GTA 5, Max Payne 3, and L.A. Noire. The company also clarified that it plans to continue supporting the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, even as they work toward releasing the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S ports of GTA Online in March of next year. This includes continuing to release new content for Grand Theft Auto Online on both the next and last-gen consoles.
Rockstar Games never expressly stated its reasons for shutting down the 360 and PS3 versions of GTA Online. However, it almost certainly has to do with a declining player base on the seventh-gen hardware. Unfortunately, Rockstar Games doesn’t publish its player numbers by console. Thus, it’s unlikely that anyone outside the company knows precisely how many people still log in on the older systems. However, after eight years and two new console generations, the overwhelming majority of GTA Online players have likely migrated to either newer consoles or PC.
Continuing to support the 360 and PS3 versions of Grand Theft Auto Online is undoubtedly a drain on resources. While it’s debatable how much of a drain it is, Rockstar’s evidently decided that it’s no longer profitable to keep the old servers running. At least Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 users still have one more night of GTA Online.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available on PS3 and Xbox 360 until December 16. It will remain available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One and will arrive on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in March 2022.
Source: Rockstar Games
