Rockstar dominated the past decade with 2 out of the 3 games they released on current gen: Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto V. Both games came with incredibly well-supported online modes, Red Dead Online and GTA Online respectively, which has helped keep the games booming on the monthly charts.
Despite GTA V coming out nearly a decade ago, it just had its most successful peak player count in history in December 2019. While no hard numbers were given by Rockstar, the acclaimed developer noted that the introduction of GTA Online’s Diamond Casino Heist was the reason for the player spike.
“Thanks to you all, Grand Theft Auto Online is entering its seventh year more popular than ever. After breaking records for daily, weekly and monthly average players in July and August consecutively following the release of The Diamond Casino & Resort, the December launch of The Diamond Casino Heist broke even those records, bringing players back in bigger numbers than ever before over the holiday period,” said Rockstar Games in a press release. “The back-to-back release of these two colossal updates – the biggest GTA Online has ever seen – also made December 2019 our largest month ever in terms of player numbers.”
GTA V also had its biggest year ever for views across YouTube. Given the game’s massive history and highly anticipated launch that led to the rise of many large YouTube channels, it’s definitely a huge achievement and shows the game hasn’t slowed down.
“We also want to extend a massive thank you to all the YouTubers out there who played, created and commented on GTAV content throughout the year. 2019 was GTAV’s biggest year ever for views on YouTube (with December 30th to January 5th being our biggest seven-day period ever), while GTAV videos also hit a new record for engagement via likes and comments in the week ending January 12th, 2020* – kicking off the new year in a huge way. It’s great to see so many talented creators who inspire and entertain helping to share the fun and possibilities of these games with the entire world.”
Red Dead Online also hit peak numbers in the same month as GTA Online thanks to it’s new Moonshiners update. To celebrate both of these major milestones, Rockstar Games has decided to thank players via substantial in-game offerings in both games including $2,000,000 GTA dollars in GTA V.
Players who play GTA Online between January 30th to February 5th will earn a hefty million and have another chance to double it with another million by playing from February 6th – 12th.
You can view the rewards for Red Dead Online’s thank you bonus below.
The Gunslinger’s Cache: Play between January 28th and February 3rd to get a Free Schofield Revolver, a Free Varmint Rifle and the Devastating Ammo Bundle, which includes 100x Split Point Revolver Ammo, 100x High Velocity Pistol Ammo, 100x Express Repeater Ammo, 100x Slug Shotgun Ammo, and 20x Explosive Rifle Ammo.
The Bounty Hunter’s Kit: Play between February 4th and February 10th to get a Reward for a Free Bounty Hunter license, 25x Bolas, and 25x Tracking Arrows.
Rockstar promises to support both games with substantial new updates in the new year showing that neither GTA Online or Red Dead Online are planning on stopping anytime soon.
GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 are available now on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. GTA V also recently got added to the Xbox Game Pass library, making it free for Game Pass subscribers.
