Red Dead Redemption 3 Officially Facing One Massive Change

While GTA 6 and its online mode are obviously going to dominate Rockstar Games’ time for a very, very long time going forward, we all know Red Dead Redemption 3 is coming one day. One day in the far future, certainly, but as sure as Uncle can’t work on account of his lumbago, another Red Dead Redemption will be released in the next . . . three decades? Let’s say three decades. Maybe four, to be safe.

In an old interview, Rockstar Games Co-Founder Dan Houser said he thinks Red Dead Redemption 3 would “probably” happen. Of course, there’s some crucial context here: Dan Houser is no longer at Rockstar Games. Despite this, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also indicated back in 2023 that he expects Red Dead Redemption as a franchise to continue on. As great as this is, there’s one major change facing the series.

As part of a fantastic in-depth interview on the Lex Fridman Podcast a few months back, Dan Houser reiterated that Red Dead Redemption 3 will likely happen. It just won’t have anything to do with him. As one of the creative leads on Red Dead Redemption 2, Houser played a big role in shaping the character of Arthur Morgan, who has since gone on to become one of gaming’s most-loved protagonists. Morgan’s tragic tuberclerosis diagnosis was even based on House’s grandfather (who survived, unlike Arthur).

Houser explained: “Each of the [Grand Theft Auto] games was kind of a standalone story. It’s not quite the same. I think it probably would be, in some ways, sadder if someone continued on Red Dead, because it was a cohesive two-game arc. That might be more sad to hear someone working on that. I don’t own the IP … that’s part of the deal. It’s a privilege to work on stuff, but you don’t necessarily own it.”

Fans of Red Dead Redemption 2 aren’t particularly wild about the idea of a third game (fourth if you count Revolver) going forward without one its lead writers and creative forces. I can understand why: the writing and characters are such a huge part of what makes Red Dead Redemption 2 work. Heck, without that, I daresay you’re left with a pretty but occasionally quite boring open world.

“Wild how you can create one of the most iconic game universes ever … and then just not own a single piece of it. The gaming industry is ruthless,” one user shared on Reddit.

“Red Dead Redemption 3 without Dan Houser? Feels off,” another wrote.

“A Red Dead 3 without Dan Houser is like a Tarantino film without the dialogue,” a third fan argued. “They’ll sell 30 million copies of a beautiful, hollow shell that proves his genius was the real soul of the series.”

If Red Dead Redemption 3 does end up happening, it’s still years and years and years away. Heck, it’s so far away that Dan Houser could feasibly end up back at Rockstar. If Oasis can get back together, anything can happen. We do know the next Rockstar game GTA 6 has already been decided, but as for what it is? Time will tell.

Red Dead Redemption 2