GTA Online For Xbox 360 And PS3 Will Close In December
GTA Online has been a flagship element of GTA V, and is for many the sole point of replayability. The crime sim has its own merits in the single-player department for sure, but it’s the antics of blowing things up and robbing corner stores with gaggles of mates that keep players coming back to the title.
The game has spanned two console generations, and with rumours of it moving to a third with a next-gen port, the game shows no signs of slowing down. But, it looks like the player base on the game’s first consoles is running thin, as the game mode is on its way out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
GTA Online, L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3 Online Features To Be Terminated
It has been announced on Rockstar Support’s website that the online services for some Rockstar Games will be coming to an end in December, GTA Online included.
Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire will have their online services for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 made “no longer available” on September 16, along with their website stat tracking. Rockstar has assured that the story modes of these titles will remain unaffected. It is on this date also that Rockstar will suspend the sales of Shark Cards for GTA Online for these consoles, which are the micro-transactions that offer players more in-game currency.
It is two months after this, on December 16, 2021, that GTA Online on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will take its final breath, being shut down forever. Again, Rockstar has assured us that the story mode will not be affected.
It’s clear that the amount of players still on these games on a console a couple of generations behind is slim, but it marks the end of an era for them, GTA Online especially. The game started on these consoles, and while they’ve been tinkered with over the years. The consoles that started it all will no longer be supported for online play. It’s a necessary sacrifice, but it doesn’t make the fact any less sad. If you’re still rocking the 360 or PS3, you have until the end of the year to upgrade, or you could have to say goodbye to the game forever.