Hold onto your stetsons, fellow gamers and digital cowpokes; the ever-churning rumor mill is giving us news about as welcome as rain after a long drought, especially if you’re a fan of Red Dead Redemption.
The latest word on the grapevine is that Red Dead Redemption 3 is apparently on the horizon.
Now, don’t start polishing your revolvers just yet; it’s going to be a long ride until we see this game galloping onto our consoles, but official word from the folks behind the curtain says it’s coming.
Red Dead Redemption – the gaming series that brought the Wild West back to the mainstream – began its journey with the less-known Red Dead Revolver in 2004. It took Rockstar a six-year leap to 2010 for Red Dead Redemption to make a bigger mark on the gaming scene, a title so lauded it became synonymous with open-world western action.
As if outdoing themselves were a hobby, Rockstar went ahead and released Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018, a title that was more of an epic than a game. After all that grandeur, you’d think what’s next would be hard to imagine, but in a world where the term “next-gen” is thrown around like confetti, Rockstar has never been one to shy away from a challenge.
Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar’s parent company), took to the stage at the Jefferies Virtual Global Interactive Entertainment Conference. He has made it official: the Red Dead Redemption series is poised for a return. But, you’ll want to hold your horses and not get too excited, Zelnick played it coy about release dates – don’t hold your breath for a double whammy decade featuring both GTA VI and Red Dead Redemption 3.
Rockstar’s modus operandi, as many know, is quality over quick turnovers. The company’s philosophy leans heavily on letting their games “rest” – akin to letting a good wine age – so that when they do return, it’s like a rare celestial event; awe-inspiring and worth the wait.
Zelnick took a moment to compare his company’s juggernaut franchises, including GTA and Red Dead Redemption, to that of cinematic icon, James Bond. If it’s spectacular, it’ll go on, he professed. Rockstar’s pattern reveals its dedication not just to sequels but to well-curated experiences that extend the life of their intellectual property. In a world where the buzz often leads to burnout, they’re the slow-cooking crockpot in a landscape of quick microwavable bites.
That’s not all. A popular leaker, more known for Marvel and DC leaks than gaming, added fuel to the fire by claiming that Red Dead Redemption 3 is “officially in the works.” While these leaks are yet uncorroborated, fans are speculating about what the new installment might look like. It could very well be a prequel to the prequel, diving into the earlier years of the Van Der Linde Gang and the infamous Blackwater events, acting as a prologue to Red Dead Redemption 2.
But for those clutching their pearls in anticipation, let’s manage expectations. Red Dead Redemption 2 took eight years to go from concept to console, and if its successor is to exceed its lofty standards, then patience will be a gamer’s best friend. Heck, given the pace of Rockstar’s perfectionism, we could very well be looking at a title that comes out when the console generation has turned once again. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. With the game’s history, the time taken only ensures that whatever comes out will rewrite the rules of what a game can be, again.
So what’s the bottom line here? Red Dead Redemption 3 is coming, but it’s rolling into town at its own brisk pace, with minimal care for the hype but enriched by legacy. In this age of incessant clamor for the new and the next, it’s almost poetic that a franchise rooted in the past teaches us a thing or two about the virtues of waiting.
So mosey on, gamers; the next frontier is coming – just not anytime soon.
In the meantime, fans can check out Red Dead Redemption on the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch. It’s unclear if a PC port is coming but fans are definitely hoping for one.
