Rockstar Games is going to temporarily shut down both of its flagship games today in a gesture to “honor the legacy of George Floyd”. Both Red Dead Redemption Online servers and Grand Theft Auto Online servers will go down for two hours today, and it seems this observance will be echoed by every title under the Take-Two banner.
The observance will begin today, June 4 at 11:00 PDT / 14:00 EDT / 19:00 BST and will conclude at 13:00 PDT / 16:00 EDT / 21:00 BST across all affected titles. Rockstar is the only studio to have made the announcement so far, but GamesIndustry.biz reports that all Take-Two labels will follow suit. That includes everything from 2K sports titles to those from mobile studio Social Point.
“Following the memorial”, Rockstar says on Twitter, “we hope you will join us in further honoring the many victims of America’s racial injustices by supporting their families, black-owned businesses, those marching on the streets, and coalitions through the organizations listed here.” The link points toward the Charity Navigator page on recommended civil rights organisations to donate to.
You’re certain to find something more important than GTA to think about this evening.
Following the memorial, we hope you will join us in further honoring the many victims of America's racial injustices by supporting their families, black-owned businesses, those marching on the streets, and coalitions through the organizations listed here: https://t.co/yIQu2R1pJb
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) June 4, 2020
A number of publishers have made comments and donations, or delayed events in recognition of the ongoing protests against racial discrimination and police brutality in the US and around the world.