Red Dead Online players gather for the game's sad, sporadic funeral

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Here lies Red Dead Online

Red Dead Online funeral
(Image credit: Reddit via Mr_Peanutbutter69 / Rockstar Games)

The day of Red Dead Online's funeral has come, right on the heels of Rockstar formally killing the game by announcing the end of major updates, and players have gathered online to mourn what the game was and could've been. 

The #RedDeadFuneral was first announced earlier this month as a way for the game's community to protest the neglected state of the multiplayer mode and acknowledge that the revival they were hoping for would never come. It hasn't gotten a big update in a year, and the last update wasn't even particularly well-received, so with Rockstar sunsetting the game as it prioritizes GTA 6, it was time to let go. 

In addition to the Red Dead Online Reddit community, players have gathered around social media tags like #RedDeadFuneral and #outlawsforlife, not to mention the persistent and now bitterly ironic #SaveRedDeadOnline, to mourn. Sharing memes and grievances in equal measure, the community's showering the game's proverbial coffin with photos and memories. 

"Today is the day the community is paying its respects to a game that many of us love, and wish had gotten more love from Rockstar. So login in today, and have a few beers at either Valentine or Blackwater Graveyard," Reddit user DirtyTyler writes in one top-rated post. 

"Tempted to join the 'funeral' just to be around other players for once," writes liittlelokii, who says they've usually played "100% solo" and will still tinker with the game's world even if Rockstar's done with it. 

"I only started playing RDO this Feb and I still enjoy logging in every day," says *sigh* bigdickjohnson69420. "However, I wanted to show solidarity and take part in the 'Red Dead Funeral' today." 

its_been_real_reddeadfuneral from r/RedDeadOnline
not_going_to_the_funeral_but_instead_praying_that from r/RedDeadOnline
thank_you_reddeadfuneral from r/RedDeadOnline

As the official post on the Red Dead Online subreddit notes, the funeral was planned as a day-long affair since setting specific hours "wouldn't be fair, due to time zone differences, school, work and other commitments." Some attended the ceremony alone, while others went with a group. Some unexpectedly powerful video game photography has come out of the whole event, which is still ongoing at the time of writing. 

The funeral was even attended by actor Roger Clark, the heart and voice of Red Dead Redemption 2's Arthur Morgan. "Although today it has my sympathies I know this community will never die," Clark said in a tweet, posted on the day of the funeral with the #outlawsforlife tag. 

Red Dead Online won't actually be taken offline for the foreseeable future, but the game won't be changing significantly either. It's in full maintenance mode, basically, which is quickly becoming a trend for this year with Ubisoft and Blizzard both putting some online games out to pasture. 

And it might make me a terrible person, but this one really got me:  

damn_that_was_fast from r/RedDeadOnline

Here lies Red Dead Online. May it rest in peace. 

May as well mourn everything at once: PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of Red Dead Redemption 2 have reportedly been shelved. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.