RIP GTA Online

"Grand Theft Auto 5" has been around for a long time. So long, in fact, that many have grown tired of playing "GTA 5" conventionally and have thus come up with some pretty bizarre ways to enjoy the game and its online components. When a title has existed that long, it can be easy to forget where it started. It's hard to believe that the fifth entry in the "Grand Theft Auto" series has spanned three console generations, but it does indeed go that far back. It may not come as a surprise, then, that the long life of "GTA Online" is coming to an end for a few older console.

Rockstar recently announced that it will be discontinuing "GTA Online" support for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on Dec. 16, 2021. The announcement did emphasize, however, that PS3 and 360 owners will still be able to enjoy the story mode without restriction.

In addition to these sweeping changes being made to the oldest iteration of "GTA 5," Rockstar made similar announcements for two more acclaimed titles in its library. On Sept. 16, Rockstar will discontinue "Website stat tracking, online multiplayer, and leaderboards" for "Max Payne 3," as well as stat tracking for "LA Noire" on the same consoles.

Considering the fact that the devs are currently hard at work on the next-gen version "GTA 5," (and presumably "Grand Theft Auto 6"), it makes sense that Rockstar would want to focus its resources on the two latest generations. After all, it's unlikely that maintaining servers across three platform generations is cost-effective. You may be wondering: are there even enough gamers left on those systems to cause an uproar?

Rockstar also shared the news on Twitter, and responses are quite mixed. On one end, you have people who understand the budgetary demands, such as one user who wrote, "You do realize it cost money to keep those servers running." On the other side, you have those who are sympathetic toward gamers who are unable to afford newer systems. One of these users remarked, "as someone who didn't have a ps4 until 2016, i can tell you the game's price is not the reason why some of those people haven't upgraded." 

Beyond that, there are plenty of other reactions that don't fall into either category. Apathetic to the news, someone in the thread wrote, "Nobody cares where's 'GTA 6.'" Another user stated, "[Not gonna lie], I wouldn't mind if you shutdown the rest of the 'GTA Online' servers too."

Regardless of where you stand, it's clear from the fan response that there are still plenty of gamers playing "GTA 5" on older consoles. If you play the game on one of those systems, you have until Dec. 16 of this year to get in as much time on "GTA Online" as you can.