GTA Online For Xbox 360 And PlayStation 3 Is Finally Reaching The End Of The Road

It's almost hard to believe, but Grand Theft Auto Online for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is still going strong to this day. The times they are a-changin', though, with Rockstar today announcing that it will shut down the PS3 and Xbox One versions of GTA Online by the end of the year. In addition, online support is ending for two other Rockstar games on PS3 and Xbox One: LA Noire and Max Payne 3.

In a blog post today, Rockstar announced that it will shut down the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of GTA Online on December 16th, 2021. This includes stat tracking via the Rockstar Games Social Club, though Rockstar is clear that this shut down won't affect Grand Theft Auto V's Story Mode on either platform. Rockstar will also stop selling Shark Cards on these platforms on September 15th, 2021.

We'll see online services stop for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Max Payne 3 and LA Noire in the more immediate future. On September 16th, 2021, Max Payne 3 will lose "website stat tracking, online multiplayer, and leaderboards," while LA Noire will lose website stat tracking. Once again, the shutdowns won't impact either game's Story Mode on these platforms.

It comes as no surprise that Rockstar has decided to shut down GTA Online on Xbox 360 and PS3. Both consoles have been discontinued for several years – Microsoft discontinued the Xbox 360 in 2016 while Sony had discontinued the PS3 worldwide by 2017 – and likely have much smaller player bases than Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Rockstar is gearing up to release GTA Online on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X later this year, making the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions feel especially old.

So, if you're still playing GTA Online on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, circle December 16th on your calendar because that's the day Rockstar will pull the plug on those versions of the game for good.