Rockstar to shut down PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of GTA Online in December

Rockstar will shut down Grand Theft Auto Online on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on December 16, 2021.

At this point you'd be forgiven for forgetting that the lucrative online mode actually debuted two console generations ago, having initially launched two weeks after the main game on October 1, 2013. 

GTA Online evolved massively as it leaped across the hardware divide, eventually morphing into the revenue-inducing, soon-to-be-standalone experience we're familiar with today. 

That enduring popularity has prompted Rockstar to work on bringing the online mode along with GTA V over to current-gen platforms like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S, but as the company looks ahead it has also decided to call time on its elder statesman.

"As we continue to move forward with updates and support for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions of Grand Theft Auto Online -- as well as prepare for this Fall's launches of the new expanded and enhanced versions of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S -- the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of GTA Online, including website stat tracking via the Rockstar Games Social Club, will officially be shutting down on December 16, 2021," commented the studio in a press release. 

The company added that Shark Cash Cards for GTA Online will be made unavailable for purchase on PS3 and Xbox 360 after September 15, 2021, with the Rockstar Games Social Club and "other features" being switched off a day later on September 16.

Rockstar noted the changes will only affect GTA Online, and that the main game will remain playable beyond the December shutdown. It also pointed out that the demise of Rockstar Social Club on PS3 and Xbox 360 will spell the end for website stat tracking, online multiplayer, and leaderboards in Max Payne 3, along with L.A. Noire website stat tracking.