When Red Dead Redemption 2, fans began to question its model, gameplay, events, and lack of updates, all of which could be bad news for the much-wanted Red Dead Redemption 3. Rockstar Games has since shut down all major content update for the online addition moving forward, despite players calling for change, with the reason for this claimed to be related to the GTA 6. With the confirmation of Grand Theft Auto 6's development, Red Dead Redemption 3 doesn't seem as likely to happen in the foreseeable future.
Red Dead Online's launch was marred in controversy, with lots of players unhappy with a perceived lack of content, in-game events and goals. Missions did not reward nearly enough money as players wanted, and gold bars were difficult to obtain in the beginning. For many, making money was pointless in Red Dead Online, with little for fans to spend their hard-earned gold on. Over time the game has gotten more updates, but many still feel upset with the game, and plenty of players feel there's nothing worthwhile included. With Red Dead Online's many problems, a Red Dead Redemption 3 could prove difficult.
Red Dead Redemption 3 is the rumored third entry in the series. After the widely successful RDR2, many fans have hoped for a sequel into the world of the cowboys, maybe with RDR3, Sadie Adler could return to Mexico. Red Dead Redemption 2 saw praise from fans worldwide for its story-driven campaign alone, however, the online portion of Red Dead 2 has not been so fortunate, which could cause concern for the titular series.
What Red Dead Redemption 3 Can Learn From RDO
Prior to the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, the series was primarily known for interesting, and well-written stories set in the Western time period. The success of GTA Online allowed Rockstar to attempt the same monetization process that was featured in the online portion of GTA V. Some time after the release of RDO, the series started to lose traction, and updates would start to slow down. Red Dead Online still has a dedicated player base that seemingly plays regularly, and fights to have more updates brought into RDO. Red Dead Online has garnered so much attention that the RDO fans had planned a funeral because of lackluster updates.
Red Dead Online unfortunately did not have the same amount of success as GTA Online. What could have been a great addition to the Rockstar family has seemingly diminished. Rockstar attempted to repeat the same practice as it did with GTA Online, and many players were unhappy with the final product, and that ultimately is what "killed" Red Dead Online. The potential hope for Red Dead Redemption 3 had been shelved for the time being, and Rockstar Games had shifted its focus to Grand Theft Auto with the recently announced GTA 6. GTA 6 doesn't have a confirmed release date, however, according to recent leaks,GTA 6 may release in 2024.
Rockstar Games can redeem itself, save Red Dead Redemption 3, and regain the trust that it had allegedly lost from the consumers. It could focus on what the series is known for, which is single-player. The storyline helped make Red Dead Redemption 2 so popular, and a sequel would have to live up to this. Another thing that Rockstar could do is to not monetize the game should it launch with an online counterpart - not every game needs microtransactions.
The last thing that it could do is to listen to its player base, if Rockstar does do multiplayer again, then the company would need to be as transparent with its community as possible. If Rockstar listens to the community and makes some much-needed changes, then Red Dead Redemption 3 is almost a certainty. The future of Red Dead Redemption 3 is worrisome, and because of the disappointing release and for Red Dead Online, and the release of GTA 6, there may not be an announcement for Red Dead Redemption 3 for many years to come.