As the headline suggests, Rockstar is now beginning to redirect more internal efforts towards its forthcoming Grand Theft Auto 6, an entry poised to destroy all other releases around it when it finally drops. And honestly, one we can't wait to see where the studio(s) takes us next, in particular with all the tech learnings from the still jaw-dropping Red Dead Redemption 2, as well as what new hardware opportunities will afford the team to deliver what we know will be a seminal, sprawling open-world experience.

As per the Rockstar Newswire, the studio has updates on operations and upcoming content for its two persistent online properties, GTA Online and Red Dead Online with the latter being the most affected in order to focus as much as possible on development of GTA6. But don't stress, cowpeople, support is still in place.

We would also like to thank the Red Dead Online community for their continued support and dedication.

Over the past few years, we have been steadily moving more development resources towards the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series — understanding more than ever the need to exceed players’ expectations and for this next entry to be the best it can possibly be — and as a result, we are in the process of making some changes to how we support Red Dead Online.

Firstly, with both new and experienced players engaging in the wealth of activities already added to this massively rich world including Specialist Roles, story-based cooperative missions, competitive Showdown Modes, and much more, we will continue to showcase these unique additions through Red Dead Online’s monthly events as we move forward, so players of all levels can enjoy everything the vast frontier has to offer.

Alongside seasonal special events and experience improvements — plus other changes to enhance and maintain a healthy Red Dead Online environment — we plan to build upon existing modes and add new Telegram Missions this year, rather than delivering major themed content updates like in previous years, and we will continue to highlight and share the creative efforts of our Red Dead community at every opportunity via the Newswire and beyond.

Once again, we want to thank the community for their continued support. We are truly grateful for all the constructive feedback we’ve received up to this point and hope you keep it coming. This direct feedback from players has been instrumental to the ongoing success of both GTA Online and Red Dead Online — and an integral element of what helps us continue to evolve and improve as we push ahead towards the future.

The full report, linked above, also goes into details on forthcoming updates to GTA Online for its denizens -- new and old -- with some exciting developments. On the Red Dead front though, there's some personal hope some of the peripheral exploits aren't just put to pasture such as a RDR1 remake, as we reported recently, or a next-gen update to Red Dead Redemption 2.

Stay tuned for more as it becomes available.

With Rockstar taking the persistent multiplayer component of its Western opus Red Dead Redemption 2 and releasing it as a standalone game. Red Dead Online is set to launch December 1 for $4.99 USD across the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Rockstar Games Launcher, Epic Games Store and Steam - with support for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

For those wondering how Red Dead Online has been faring since launch and in recent months and where it may be headed be sure to check out our in-depth interview with Rockstar. As per the announcement Red Dead Online will require roughly 123GB of space for installation.

The shift to standalone is also set to arrive with an expansion to the Bounty Hunter role.

And Bounty Hunters across Red Dead Online will have an influx of fugitives to deal with, as the Bounty Hunter Role is enhanced with new criminals to track down and Prestigious level equipment and skills to unlock across 10 more Bounty Hunter ranks. There will also be new Legendary Bounties and a 100 Rank Outlaw Pass.

And those new to the game can prepare for next week’s big update by commencing the hunt to take down the frontier’s current crop of notorious reprobates. Meet up with the Legendary Bounty Hunter in the town of Rhodes to procure a Bounty Hunter License and get started.

We were lucky enough to be given a chance to chat with some key developers from the world-building and design side of Red Dead Online recently where we touched a little on the last major update that came to the game: The Naturalist, but we wouldn't be very good at our jobs if we didn't dig a little deeper on the challenges the team faces with keeping such a diverse world alive, while also revealing some of the weirder stuff the community has done on their own.

Here's a snippet from our in-depth Q&A:

AusGamers: What’s the weirdest ‘role’ you’ve seen a community member take up before you guys created roles?

Katie Pica: It’s not a role specifically, but I think the group of players that decided to carry their stew from one side of the map to the other stood out to me.

Scott Butchard: Before we created the roles, the emergence of a fight club subculture was a very cool thing to me. It wasn’t so much weird as a surprise. It really showed that players were into that social vibe in a controlled way – and it’s something that we’d like to acknowledge in future.

Click here for our in-depth Red Dead Online interview

Perhaps taking cues from Fallout 76 and its players who decided to take on the roles of its lacking helpful NPCs, Rockstar has announced its next major update for Red Dead Online will include three initial "Specialist" roles for players: the Bounty Hunter, the Trader and the Collector.

Here's the official rundown on what these roles will entail:

Later this summer, the world will evolve again with the introduction of specialist roles – unique paths of progression, each providing their own experience with tailored gameplay elements and benefits that will allow players to become even more deeply connected to their character and the choices they make as they inhabit the world of Red Dead Online. This fundamental change points to the long term future of Red Dead Online – a world where players coexist in an uneasy peace, choosing to band together or striking out alone, fighting to survive in a world full of threats and opportunities as they build a life for themselves on the frontier.

The Bounty Hunter
Become a Bounty Hunter for a life of constant action on both sides of the law. A licensed Bounty Hunter can track down targets and capture – or kill, depending on how honorable you are in your pursuits. Occasionally, a nearby player with a high enough bounty can also be a designated target. Progression will unlock special items like a reinforced lasso for extra-tough targets, as well as intricate gun-spinning tricks and advanced tracking skills like the ability to use Eagle-Eye while sprinting, galloping on horseback and many other special skills, items and upgrades.

The Trader
The life of a Trader is perfect for burgeoning capitalists as you establish and develop a business from your Camp. Thanks to your trusty companion Cripps’ knowledge of furs, skins and butchery, you’ll be able to take on new opportunities to collect materials and produce valuable goods to sell. Increasing your skill as a Trader unlocks the ability to upgrade your Camp with a Weapons Locker, Stew Pot and even allow any canine companion to warn of impending attacks on the camp. As your business expands, you can gain new skills, improve your satchel or add new assets to your business like hunting wagons to bring in bigger hauls and much more.

The Collector
A Collector loves to explore the world for rare and valuable items. Look for a mystic travelling saleswoman in the wild to get started down the Collector’s path, searching for lost jewelry, rare arrowheads and other treasures to sell as individual pieces or highly valuable sets. As you progress, you will gain access to tools that help your search including Refined Binoculars, a Horse Lantern and even a Metal Detector, as well as gaining additional skills to help you seek and discover the world’s greatest rarities.

As you grow into each role, it will evolve and shape your experience within the world and the characters around you, showing other players how far you’ve progressed down the path of each specialist role. You’ll also be able to play and progress across all three roles simultaneously or choose to ply your trade in just the roles of your choice.

Additionally, Rockstar says the update will have new enhancements and will address combat and balance as well as movement "to allow for a more responsive control system that still feels natural", which is an interesting tidbit since so many of the divisive crowd in the negative use the game's deliberate and realistic movement system as a reason they don't praise the game as much as some other people.

There's no date on when the update will drop, but apparently more will be revealed in what to expect of it in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.