Is GTA Online shutting down? Panicked fans fear game will go offline forever

WORRIED that GTA Online is shutting down? We’ll it is and it isn’t, depending on what you mean.

The hugely popular online mode of GTA 5 is beloved by many – but it won’t be unchanged forever.

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Rockstar GamesGTA 5 is almost a decade old, but it’s still one of the best games out there[/caption]

Rockstar hasn’t shown any sign of GTA Online being shut down soon – it’s got millions of players, after all.

However, we’re expecting the game to be replaced with a brand new version when GTA 6 comes out.

That’s probably going to be in 2023 or 2024, according to rumours.

So the current iteration of GTA Online is unlikely to last forever.

Rockstar GamesRockstar is shutting down GTA Online on the Xbox 360 and PS3[/caption]

What’s more, Rockstar won’t support all consoles indefinitely.

In fact, there will come a day when it’s likely that consoles like the PS4 or Xbox One may lose support.

That might not happen thanks to cloud gaming, which means you can play titles without powerful hardware.

But the death knell has already sounded for GTA Online on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

GTA Online, which is played by more than 100,000 people globally, will cease to exist on Xbox 360 and PS3 from December 16.

The move will bring an end to the multiplayer mode as well as website stat tracking via the Rockstar Games Social Club, Rockstar said.

The US company will continue to run the service on Xbox One and PS4, where it’s still going strong nearly eight years on from the launch of GTA 5.

“Please note, these changes are strictly for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of GTA Online,” Rockstar said in a statement on Wednesday.

The shutdown “will have no impact on access to, or progress within, the Grand Theft Auto V Story Mode”, the New York-based firm added.

Rockstar GamesThe move will bring an end to the multiplayer mode as well as website stat tracking[/caption]

Rockstar said it is now focussing its efforts on expanded and enhanced versions of GTA 5 and GTA Online on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

GTA 5 hit shelves in 2013 and by the end of this year will have spanned three generations of console.

More than 140 million people have played GTA 5 on PlayStation 4 alone, according to data analytics firm GamStat.

It’s thought that around 130,000 people login to GTA Online every month across consoles and PC.

Rockstar is likely shutting down the service on the 360 and PS3, which came out in 2005, as player numbers dwindle on the older-generation consoles.

Binning GTA Online on older platforms will free up server space that the company can then use for its various other multiplayer games.

Rockstar also announced that it is shutting down online services for two additional blockbuster games.

Services for 2011’s L.A. Noire and 2012’s Max Payne 3 will get the chop in September on both the 360 and PS3.

“All these changes will have no impact on access or progress in Story Mode for any of these titles on either platform,” Rockstar said.

“We’d like to thank the GTA Online community for their continued support, and look forward to seeing players continue their journey in Los Santos with us on new platforms.”

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