Rockstar Games is one of the most prestigious and successful companies in the games industry, and that prestige and success are only likely to grow whenGrand Theft Auto 6eventually releases. The next chapter in the wildly popular open-world crime franchise is still slated for a 2025 release, and it will probably be the biggest game of the year regardless of its quality (which will presumably be quite substantial). Indeed,GTA 6is the game to watch in the coming months. Excitement forGTA 6would have been through the roof regardless of Rockstar’s output post-2013, but the remarkable creative and commercial success ofRed Dead Redemption 2helped send it into the stratosphere.
Red Dead Redemption 2represents a massive leap forward for not just Rockstar, but the gaming medium as a whole, thanks to its unprecedented attention to detail and visual fidelity. Even now, nearly seven years later, the game’s technical accomplishments cannot be overstated.Red Dead Redemption 2also served to reaffirm Rockstar’s commitment to great storytelling in games, assuring audiences that it hadn’t abandoned cinematic single-player experiences in favor of quasi-MMOs likeGTA Online. All of these factors are elevating hype forGTA 6, but more than anything,RDR2has left players hungry for more wild-west outings from Rockstar.
Given the worldwide success ofRed Dead Redemption 2, one would assume that a third game is in the pipeline, but such an assumption might be a bit too hasty. Perhaps the biggest roadblock standing betweenRed Dead Redemption 2andRed Dead Redemption 3is the possible premise of the latter.RDR2being revealed to be a prequel to the first game was certainly a surprise, especially since it seemed likeRed Dead Redemptionwas positioning Jack Marston to be the new protagonist, but it wound up working out for the best. Now, Rockstar would have to choose between two paths: makeRed Dead Redemption 3an actual sequel, perhaps one centered on Jack, or make it another prequel, following the Van der Linde Gang during its glory days.
One could argue that Rockstar has a third option forRDR3: follow another character, like Charles or Sadie, as they embark on a bold new adventure. But this premise would be more like aspin-off than a properRed Dead Redemption 3, and it has its own risks as well, as being a good supporting character is vastly different from being a good lead.
These premises could make for a lackluster follow-up to two of the best games of the 2010s, though. For one thing, there’s not much of a “wild west” left for Jack or anyone else to explore by the timeRed Dead Redemption’s epilogue ends, and Jack becoming a lifelong outlaw would be potentially underwhelming, as it undermines the journey his father went through.A prequel toRed Dead Redemption 2could be even worse, as it would rob the Van der Linde Gang’s history of much of its ambiguity, not to mention the lack of tension that would result from knowing basically everything that is going to happen to the Gang from the first two games.
Despite the aforementionednarrative struggles facingRed Dead Redemption 3, many in the gaming community seem to assume that this game will arrive at some point afterGTA 6. Rockstar could perform a magic trick, writing its way out of the corner it has ostensibly gotten into followingRed Dead Redemption 2, or it could simply lay the franchise to rest, allowing it to go out on a high note. But the expectation should be set regardless, so that audiences aren’t left forever wondering what the IP’s next move is going to be.
Red Dead Redemption 2
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America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.
