The delayed launch ofGrand Theft Auto 6has uncertain implications for the possibility of aRed Dead Redemption 3release. Rockstar is no stranger to long dev cycles, but as those long waits between games keep getting longer, it may cause some fans to doubt the future. As successful asRed Dead Redemption 2was, some may wonder if a third entry in the series is even still on the table at this point.
Rockstar sent shockwaves throughout the gaming industry when it announced the already-long-awaitedGrand Theft Auto 6would be delayed until 2026. Some insiders have suggested thatanotherGTA 6delay isn’t out of the question, either, though a second pushback may still keep it within a 2026 window. Future delays aside, the game has been in development for over a decade at this point, so what does that mean for Rockstar’s other beloved action-adventure series?
At first glance,GTA 6’s extended development does not look good forRed Dead Redemption 3. Rockstarworked onRDR 2for eight years, starting the dev cycle as soon as the first game was out. If the next entry followed a similar schedule, it would mean fans could expectRDR 3in 2026, but that seems unlikely now. WithGTA 6now set to come out that year, Rockstar likely would not want to compete with itself by releasing two major entries so close to each other. There has also been no news of a thirdRed Dead Redemptionyet, andGTA’s delays suggest the studio could be focusing its resources on that series for now.
While Rockstar does work on multiple titles simultaneously, there’s usually a gap between major releases. Looking at the past,GTA 5andRDR 2came out five years apart, and on average, the franchises trade releases roughly every three and a half years. Going by that history,RDR 3could come out sometime around 2029 or 2030. Considering how the last game has already been out for seven years, that’s likely not what fans want to hear, although it would still be shorter than the gap betweenGTA 5andGTA 6.
There is a chance that it may not take that long, though. A former Rockstar dev has speculated thatGTA 7’s development will likely be cheaper because of AI, which could also accelerate its release timeline. If that’s true, it could mean development onRDR 3would also speed along faster than it could’ve before. However, given how controversial AI is in the gaming industry, it’s unclear if Rockstar will use it or to what extent while makingRed Dead Redemption 3.
With no official news on the future of theRed Deadseries, it’s difficult to say what to expect. Considering how longGTA 6is taking, fans should probably not hold their breath, but just becauseGrand Theft Autohas taken a while doesn’t mean the exact same thing will happen withRDR 3.
