Rockstar Games is hard at work on Grand Theft Auto 6, and it's likely to be busy with it for the next few years. However, at some point, Rockstar Games is likely to move ahead with a threequel to its other flagship franchise: Red Dead Redemption. It may not seem like it, but Red Dead Redemption 2 is nearly five years old and fans are already speculating about when Red Dead Redemption 3 will take place, who the best protagonists could be, and so on.

However, Red Dead Redemption 3 will come with some challenges that GTA 6 won't. Rockstar's biggest hurdle with the latter is living up to Grand Theft Auto 5, as its story mode, core gameplay, and online mode made it one of the most profitable entertainment products of all time. It still tops sales charts more than a decade after the original release. Meanwhile, Red Dead Redemption 3 will need to live up to RDR2's story mode but otherwise live down some of its biggest shortcomings, those that sent shockwaves through the community time and again.

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Red Dead Redemption 3 and the Undead Nightmare DLC That Never Was

Red Dead Redemption 3 Skip To Undead Nightmare

Seemingly intending to repeat GTA Online's success, Red Dead Redemption 2's post-launch support was largely focused on its online counterpart. There are some skeletons there too, but one big blow of this decision was that Red Dead Redemption 2 never received any single-player DLC support. However, fans were calling for it before, during, and long after the launch to no avail.

Part of this is because of the popularity of Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare DLC, which saw an alternate reality where John Marston had to fight off zombies to save his family. RDR2's Undead Nightmare 2 was something fans wanted for a long time, but many would have settled with any single-player DLC support. It didn't come, and whenever Red Dead Redemption 3 rolls around, fans won't have forgotten.

Red Dead Redemption 3, Online Counterparts, and Rockstar Support

red dead online key art

However, Red Dead Redemption 3 has to live down the Online counterpart and the lack of Rockstar Support for it too. This is especially true if Rockstar announces another version of Red Dead Online whenever the threequel comes around. As many fans know, Rockstar put plenty of resources into this online mode early on, hoping to capture lightning in a bottle twice. GTA Online was, and still is, a huge success. Rockstar bet on Red Dead Online doing the same, but it didn't. It had its fans, but the success wasn't near the same.

Because of this, Rockstar support eventually dwindled into nothing. Red Dead Online fans were then treated to lackluster content for some time before Rockstar confirmed it was dropping support for the game mode. The game is basically on autopilot, with fans even holding a funeral for Red Dead Online nearly a year ago. Needless to say, those who dedicated a lot of time and resources to this version of Red Dead Online would be immediately suspicious of another attempt.

Now, none of this is to doubt the success of Red Dead Redemption 3; its success would just be different from Grand Theft Auto. RDR1 and RDR2 show how much people love the world, the attention to detail, and the heartfelt stories, while GTA relies on sheer carnage on all levels, including multiplayer. Attempting to replicate GTA's approach with Red Dead Redemption 2 just held the game back on single-player DLC and let down players who were invested in the online counterpart. Knowing this and cleaning out these skeletons in the closet should be a key part of Red Dead Redemption 3's development and post-launch plans.

Red Dead Redemption 3 is not confirmed to be in development.

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