Rockstar has a storied development portfolio, but none of its IP have reached the same level of cultural relevance and success as Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto. Indeed, these two franchises, despite their clear differences, are more or less the two release pillars of the fabled studio, forming almost the entirety of its 2010s release calendar.
This can be expected to remain Rockstar’s modus operandi for a while still, as Grand Theft Auto 6 is slated to release in 2026, making it Rockstar’s first official, new release of the decade. It will follow 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2—a game that shook the games industry to its core, despite being something of a pleasant surprise when it was first announced: back in 2010, when the first Red Dead Redemption launched, it wasn’t widely assumed that the IP would be spun into a broader franchise. After all, this was during the era of L.A. Noire, Max Payne 3, and other Rockstar games that have seemingly been forgotten; there was no guarantee that the developer would be looking for another long-lasting series alongside GTA. But regardless of Red Dead Redemption‘s popularity, there’s reason to believe that it may never achieve the same legacy status as GTA, which can effectively be developed indefinitely.
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Why Red Dead Redemption Can’t Spawn Countless New Games, but GTA Can
Red Dead Redemption Is Locked into a Highly Specific Setting
Grand Theft Auto can be broadly described as “contemporary,” in the sense that its games follow characters in the modern age. But “contemporary” is something of a broad term, and can apply to several different decades and eras. This is why GTA: Vice City can take place in the 1980s without feeling out-of-step with GTA 5, which takes place in the early 2010s. Essentially, as long as there are cars, densely populated cities, and guns, any setting can work for Grand Theft Auto. It’s also essential to note that GTA is an anthology series, with each new entry following a distinct cast, often in a new location.
Red Dead Redemption doesn’t have such luxuries. Clearly established as a wild-west narrative, the Red Dead IP is inextricable from its frontier locales and turn-of-the-century setting: a theoretical Red Dead Redemption 3 couldn’t reasonably take place in 1950s New York, for instance. Put another way, the western genre is restricted to one sort of setting, both geographic and temporal, which gives Red Dead a lot less room to grow compared to GTA, which has already demonstrated its flexibility via its diverse portfolio. And while GTA follows a new cast with each entry, the Red Dead Redemption games center specifically on the Van der Linde Gang. A pivot to a completely new group of characters is possible, but seems less likely, given the precedent set by RDR2.
Red Dead Redemption’s Limited Scope Isn’t as Bad as It Seems
While some gamers might dream of a world with infinite Red Dead Redemption and GTA releases, that’s simply not realistic. Moreover, if Rockstar were to develop myriad Red Dead sequels, it would lock the studio out from other creative endeavors, which would be a shame, no doubt.
Red Dead Redemption may serve as an important reminder that not every good video game IP needs to be spun off into a long-running, consistent series. In fact, many games, like so many other works of art, are powerful by virtue of their finite nature. Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 are hard-hitting, stand-alone western games—they don’t need to spawn countless, potentially forced, sequels.
Red Dead Redemption 2
10/10
- Released
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October 26, 2018
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Engine
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RAGE