Summary
While it seems like a faraway prospect, a lot of eyes are already being placed on a potentialRed Dead Redemption 3. Since the franchise has extensively explored the end of the Old West, a lot of question marks have cropped up over when a sequel might take place and what characters it may feature.
Aside from this,Red Dead Redemption 3would have to match and exceed the success of its 2018 predecessor, but there are some key pitfalls ofRDR 2that a sequel could earn a lot of good faith by avoiding. One of the largest disappointments concerningRDR 2is the lack of major story DLC that it has released since launch, andRed Dead Redemption 3could finally put the franchise back on the right track in this way.
It is expected that the franchise will eventually get another entry, butRed Dead Redemption 3has not been officially confirmed by Rockstar as things stand.
2010’sRed Dead Redemptionhas a timeless narrative and base experience, but it also produced one of the most iconic video game expansions inUndead Nightmare. Taking place towards the end ofRDR’s story,Undead Nightmareleaned into the “Weird West” elements of the franchiseby plunging New Austin into a zombie outbreak.
Filled with dark humor and possessing a genuinely unsettling feel throughout,Undead Nightmareis seen as a near-perfect extension of theRed Deaduniversethat many fans hoped would be repeated withRed Dead Redemption 2. These expectations were only furthered by the small doses of against-the-grain experiences thatRDR2’s base story features, with UFOs, time travel, and vampires being just a few examples.
Red Dead Redemption 2has still not released any form of story DLC, and there are no reports or rumors of any such project in the future. This was made all the more disappointing by the lack of attention thatRed Dead Onlinereceived from Rockstar, with major support forRDR 2’s multiplayer ending in July 2022.
The lack of story DLC forRDR 2echoed whatGrand Theft Auto 5went through following its 2013 release. It also didn’t receive any story expansions despite its intense popularity. While Rockstar releases are some of the most anticipated in the gaming industry, the trend of no post-launch story offerings is increasingly worrying from the perspective of many fans.
A leading theory aroundRed Dead Redemption 3is that it will follow the story of Jack Marston followingRDR, although that might disappoint fans who prefer the more traditional Old West elements of the IP. With this in mind, post-launch story expansions could tell shorter stories from the start of the Van Der Linde gang, providing something for fans of all kinds.Red Dead Redemption 3will presumably also release afterGTA 6, which is likely to include its own ambitious online mode, meaning thatRDR 3might not have to worry as much about bolstering its own multiplayer mode. The resources that this would make available forRed Dead Redemption 3should instead be placed on story expansions, avoiding arguably the largest mistake thatRDR 2made.
