It takes quite a bit of time for releases in Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption series to happen. Since there are only two games in the series so far — not counting Red Dead Revolver — there's technically no set pattern, but it took eight years for Red Dead Redemption 2 to debut after the release of the first Red Dead Redemption, and as of October 26, it's been three years since Red Dead Redemption 2 launched, and there's no sign of a follow-up title in sight.
While Red Dead Redemption players will likely have to get used to these long waits between series installments, they'll be happy to know that said installments are at least in the works. Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company, confirmed as much during the recent Jefferies Virtual Global Interactive Entertainment Conference, where he spoke in length about Take-Two's thought process for the release of new games.
During the conference, Zelnick answered whether Take-Two's core games — franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption — have shelf lives or live on eternally through broader industry changes and technological advancements. In answering these questions, Zelnick confirmed that Take-Two does plan to launch future Red Dead Redemption titles. However, the launch of these titles will likely be few and far between.
Zelnick compares the franchise's staying power to that of James Bond, which has been around since the 1950s. He believes the movie franchise works because it spaces out installment releases, making them something like special events. He wants to do the same thing with GTA and RDR; he even reveals that Take-Two will sometimes avoid releasing titles to build up fan hype, a decision that Take-Two apparently makes as a company, not just upper management.
Overall, "Red Dead Redemption 3," or whatever the next title will be called, is coming; Take-Two plans on it, but it'll be some time before it arrives, maybe even three more years. Zelnick stated that more than half of the current release schedule for Take-Two revolves around new IPs, as while he does believe that games like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption have staying power, they aren't permanent. With that in mind, RDR3 likely won't be among the new releases, but at least fans have Red Dead Online to keep them held over until the next title in the series comes around.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
Source: VGC