Red Dead Redemption 3 has been a topic for fans ever since the conclusion of RDR 2. Considering the franchise’s massive success, the question for the sequel is more of “when” instead of “if.” The title’s predecessor was a well-received and culturally significant release across the gaming industry. Despite being half a decade old, finding new secrets within the game is not unusual.
A threequel hasn’t been confirmed by Rockstar Games yet, but many are already curious about who they’ll see, where it could go, and what it could entail. Given Rockstar’s keen eye for detail, they’ll be challenged to live up to Red Dead Redemption 2.
How the Story Could Go
The Red Dead Redemption games revolve around the Van der Linde gang—the three main protagonists—John Marston, his son Jack Marston, and Arthur Morgan. In the previous happenings of RDR, John and Arthur (spoiler alert) have met their demise, making Jack the only playable character who’s survived the ordeal to appear in the future game.
In Red Dead Redemption 2, Jack was kidnapped by the Bureau of Investigation, enemies of the Van der Linge gang. They kidnapped him and his mother, forcing John to hunt down his allies. Jack was relatively shielded from a life of violence, thanks to John and his wife Abigail, but when Edgar Ross—a Bureau agent—betrayed and killed his father, Jack wanted to get revenge in RDR’s epilogue.
It’s understandable if we would see Jack having issues with the government after the betrayal and murder of his father. This could potentially form a substantial part of his arc moving forward. If you paid attention to what happened in Red Dead Redemption’s 1914 epilogue, the United States was about to enter World War I. With Congress passing the Selective Service Act, all people in the U.S. between the ages of 21 and 30 were required to register for military service. Jack would have been 22 by this time, making him eligible; however, given his distrust for the government, he may not join willingly.
By the conclusion of Red Dead Redemption 2, Jack is a wanted man after avenging his father. Between what happened in the past and the horrors of going to war, it’s not too much of a stretch to see that he could become a radical figure in the story.
RDR 3 is Currently Not on the List of Priorities
Currently, there’s no word on whether Rockstar Games is working on Red Dead Redemption 3. We did get the disappointing news in 2022 that they allegedly stopped work on an RDR remaster. Keeping that in mind, shouldn’t that mean they managed to free up some resources in the development teams? But it looks like they’re focusing on other things, especially since Grand Theft Auto is getting its sixth iteration.
It’s a safe bet that Rockstar will eventually work on the Red Dead Redemption 2 sequel if they don’t already have people going ahead with pre-planning. Remember, Red Dead Redemption 2 was developed in 8 years, so I’m not surprised if we also have to long time before we get any important news or information about RDR 3.
Rockstar’s Promise
While Rockstar hasn’t said anything about Red Dead Redemption 3, they did discuss the upcoming changes to the artificial intelligence in their games.
Rockstar Games promised the following changes to their AI in a presentation:
- Machine learning approaches
- Better parity between player-controlled and AI characters
- Improve the quality of animals and humans and responsiveness while reducing production costs
It’s safe to assume that these changes will also find their way into RDR 3. It might not be big news, but there are enough grounds for speculation.
The Release Timeline Has Me Worried
When Red Dead Redemption 2 was released, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were already five years old. Despite the consoles being halfway through their lifespan, the game churned millions of copies. But can the same method be repeated this time?
Should Red Dead Redemption 3 release on a similar schedule, then we can expect it to be on store shelves sometime before the end of 2024. And that’s if Rockstar has the game on their priority list. Sadly, there’s no evidence that they’re developing an RDR 2 sequel—given how they’ve allocated their efforts to GTA VI.
As it stands, Red Dead Redemption 3 is not on track to meet the timeframes established by the previous releases in the series. Console generations are finicky, some lasting longer than others (looking at you, Nintendo). While RDR 3’s eventual release is all but guaranteed, I can’t deny that the possibility of it happening on a current generation console gets less likely with each day that passes.
Red Dead Redemption 3 is Still Years Away
With Rockstar Games entirely focused on the upcoming Grand Theft Auto game, it’s no surprise that Red Dead Redemption 3 could be eons away from production. We’re still years away from getting a teaser trailer—much less for a release date drop. By the time RDR 3 does get released, the next console generation may already be in production.