Red Dead Redemption 3 is an ongoing topic for fans of the RDR games. Considering the big success of Red Dead Redemption 2, RDR3 is probably less a question of "if", but much more a question of "when" – and according to a known leaker, the game might already be in the works. We summarize here when you can expect RDR3 and what the possible locations and storyline are.
Rockstar Games is renowned for especially two game franchises, namely Grand Theft Auto alias GTA, and Red Dead Redemption. While concrete info on GTA 6 are gradually emerging, having us expect the game to be officially announced until the end of the year, information about Red Dead Redemption 3 remains scarce. Surprisingly, despite the immense commercial success of Red Dead Redemption 2, released approximately five years ago, rumors surrounding its sequel are still limited.
It would defy all logical reasoning for Rockstar to abandon one of its most valuable gaming series. Therefore, it is highly likely that
Red Dead Redemption will continue to captivate fans. The pressing question that arises is, of course, when can we anticipate the release
of Red Dead 3? Here's everything we know by now.
Red Dead Redemption 3 Could Have Entered Its Early Development Phase
Considering that GTA is getting its sixth iteration, it's a safe bet that Rockstar will eventually be working on Red Dead Redemption 3, if they don't already have some people going ahead with pre-planning. Remember that Red Dead Redemption 2 was in development for 8 years, and we had to wait until they were significantly along production that we first heard about the game.
Despite rumors that have come up lately, there is no official Word from Rockstar on whether Red Dead Redemption 3 is a topic at all. The resources in the development teams will probably be focussed on GTA 6 before taking on the next big project. But that doesn't mean that Rockstar hasn't started thinking about RDR3 from a strategical perspective behind the scenes.
Red Dead Redemption could even officially be in the works – at least that's what Twitter/X user MyTimeToShineHello recently claimed. The account is usually more into leaking movies than games, so you should definitely take the Tweet with a grain of salt. Anyway, with GTA 6 on the horizon, it would actually make sense for Rockstar to look further ahead.
Red Dead Redemption 3 is officially in the works! pic.twitter.com/jfHPXS5i2f
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) September 3, 2023
Red Dead Redemption 3 Release Date: Not For A Few More Years
Without an official confirmation or announcement, we can only speculate when the game will be released. However, if we assume that GTA 6 will probably be released sometime around 2025, Red Dead Redemption 3 could be released around 2030.
Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 were released 8 years apart in 2010 and 2018, respectively. Recently, Rockstar has slowed down its own game production to support its games longer and to curb crunch, so another eight-year gap, which would mean 2026 for RDR3, seems highly unlikely. Shame.
RDR3: Possible Setting
There are a lot of options for how Red Dead Redemption 3 could play out. Setting-wise, it is safe to assume that we will once again return to America and México. Unfortunately, that would also mean that not much would change.
Since Rockstar set its first GTA game in London, and since Peaky Blinders has made people very aware of what Birmingham looked like in 1919, it's not entirely out of the question that Rockstar would set the game in the UK – though it would be the wildest and most surprising of reveals.
Still, considering that Red Dead Redemption 2 took place in 1899, and Red Dead Redemption 1 took place in 1911, a 1919 setting in Birmingham would fit right on schedule. It also wouldn't be hard to tie it into the existing storylines, since there are many characters that Rockstar could have 'escaping' the Wild West for England. Another setting that people are craving is a Native American theme, as well as something tapping into South America more.
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Red Dead 3: Story
As we mentioned above, the current front-runner in terms of a story is Landon Ricketts. Ricketts wouldn't stray far from the template set by John Marston and Arthur Morgan, as he is another famed gunslinger whose stories are yet to be told in the game. In Red Dead Redemption 1, we get to meet old Landon Ricketts, but little is known about the story behind the legend, and it's certainly a story that Red Dead fans are craving to explore.
Another popular story request is to explore the backgrounds of Charles Smith. Charles was one of the most popular characters in Red Dead Redemption 2 and his story basically writes itself: He was born to a Native American mother, and an African American father, and eventually found his way into Dutch's gang.
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Still, there is a lot of story to be told in between: Charles' ties to Native American tribes, and his life as an underground fighter certainly would lend themselves to craft a story around. Also, using Charles Smith as the main character would be a welcome departure from the prototype gunslinger trope, and it would open Red Dead Redemption 3 up to new audiences.
Red Dead Redemption 3: Probably Next-Gen Exclusive
Whenever RDR 3 is released, you can be relatively sure that Rockstar Games will develop the game for the next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft – presumably the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X.
Also, since Red Dead Redemption 2 was released on PC, it's very likely that Red Dead Redemption 3 will be released on the PC as well. But who knows – maybe by then we'll all have moved on to cloud gaming or VR when Red Dead Redemption 3 is finally released.
It's very unlikely that RDR3 will be released on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, since it seems that also GTA 6 - which will release ahead of Read Dead Redemption 3 - will be a next-gen exclusive.