Rockstar is bringing an end to online services for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of GTA V, Max Payne, and L.A. Noire.
Grand Theft Auto V just feels like the game that goes on forever, doesn’t it? It’s the Methuselah of video games.
Don’t believe us? Well, it first launched on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 back in September 2013. Its online services for those consoles launched a fortnight later. Then, a little over a year after that, in November 2014, it launched again for PS4 and Xbox One.
Then GTA V released again on Windows PC in April 2015. This time it included an update bringing first-person mode to the game for the first time. And it was at this point, with this additional lease of life, we thought that Rockstar was done.
But it was not.
In addition to being playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S via backwards compatibility, next-gen-enhanced versions of Grand Theft Auto V will release for the shiny new consoles on November 11, 2021. That’s eight whole years after its initial release. Eight!
But with the addition of new platforms – and the additional overhead that brings – it was inevitable that something would have to fall off the other end of the conveyor. It’s the circle of life.
And so, with a heavy heart, we must announce that Rockstar is killing online services for GTA V, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 players, on December 16, 2021.
Additionally, players will no longer be able to buy SHark Cards for GTA V from September 16, 2021. On that date, all online services for Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire will also be going offline.
If you were hoping to transfer progress or content from your PS3 or Xbox 360 versions of GTA Online to a newer platform? You’re sadly out of luck, per the Rockstar blog post announcing the news:
“No, this is not possible. There is no feature available to transfer character data or progress from those platforms. All website stat tracking for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 via the Rockstar Games Social Club will also be removed.”
The good news is that single-player content for all three of these games – L.A. Noire, Max Payne 3, and Grand Theft Auto V – will be unaffected by this change. You’ll still be able to play the main campaign and keep all your progress.
And, as you might expect, newer versions of the games are safe for now.
But for players who were still enjoying GTA Online and clinging to their old consoles for dear life, either because they can’t afford or can’t actually source a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S, this will still be disappointing news.
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