The history of theRed Dead Redemptionfranchise is sprawling and encompasses three games released over a 14-year period. The second two games are Western epics that deal with the death of the Old West and the outlaw way of life that accompanied it. The first of theRedemptiongames hammered in the idea that the world was getting smaller with the second showing the external and internal forces that tore the Van der Linde gang apart. It does beg the question of whereRed Dead Redemption 3could go after this.
Arguments have been made thatRed Dead Redemption 3should follow Jack Marston, who is the son of the first game’s protagonist, John Marston. While there are those who disagree with this line of thinking it opens up the opportunity to resume the franchise reoccurring theme regarding the dying west. If Rockstar Games opted to go in this direction it is very likely that the game would feel like the smallest game in the franchise.
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Both games are about the Old West dying, but go about it in radically different ways.Red Dead Redemption 2specifically seems to be about the shock of having civilized institutions come in and disrupt their way of life. Some of the game’s biggest antagonists aren’t individuals but more the institutions they represent.
Throughout the game’s runtime, the Van der Linde gang battles the Italian Mob, thePinkerton Detective Agency which still exists to this day, and the US Army who are usually working at the behest of industrialist Leviticus Cornwall and his various companies. This ultimately results in a story that is epic in nature and shows the forces that would eventually drive the old west outlaw way of life into the ground.
At every turn, the Van der Linde would feel this pressure. The Pinkerton Detective Agency hunted the gang relentlessly. Leviticus Cornwall and his successors also harass the gang for robbing one of his trains early on in the game. The pressure from all of these external forces eventually fractures the gang as everyone begins to lose faith in Dutch who has no real plan to keep them safe.
Later, it turns out thatRed Dead Redemption 2’s Micah Bellwas spying for the Pinkertons and, by extension, Cornwall for a good chunk of the game’s runtime. Whether it was for clemency or money isn’t entirely clear, but it’s another example of a civilized force that eventually drives the outlaw lifestyle into the ground.
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The first game ultimately has a story that feels smaller than the sequel.Bill Williamson leads a rag-tag group of outlaws inRed Dead Redemptionin one of the last major frontier towns. Javier Escuella is an agent of the Mexican government. Dutch van der Linde himself runs around in Long Johns with another band of outlaws who are robbing and killing with reckless abandon.
However, the story itself almost feels like a mop-up operation for everyone involved. Whether it was always intended to be a smaller story or was limited by the technology available at the time is unclear, but it’s very much a story about the remnants ofthe once glorious Old West.
Whereas the story of the second game felt very much like an epic in the Old West,Red Dead Redemption’s story is essentially now an epilogue. It’s a smaller-scale tale in a similar vein toUnforgiven,True Grit, andThe Wild Bunch. Players are very much seeing these characters well past their prime and desperately holding on to what they know and their past glory.
Players seeDutch van der Linde become gradually worse inRed Dead Redemption 2and by the time the first game takes place he may as well be a completely different character. He is no longer the man who would rob a train for Army payroll with a loyal crew but one who robs banks in frontier towns while desperately trying to stay alive. All of this reinforces the overall idea and theme that this is the end of the Old West which is somethingRed Dead Redemption 3could benefit from.
Currently, nothing is known about the hypothetical sequel, what direction it will take, or if Rockstar even intends to make it. Some have suggested that focusing on Jack Marston is the way to go while others thinkRed Dead Redemption 3should focus on Dutch and Hosea’s early days. However, if the developer were to follow Jack Marston it will likely benefit by following the path of the firstRed Dead Redemptionand be another smaller-scaled story.
By the timeRed Dead Redemptionends, the year is 1914 and the world has changed in big ways.IfRed Dead Redemption 3were to happen, it would likely be about the last vestiges of that lifestyle. Any gangs that are formed would likely be smaller, made up of the last of the old guard outlaws, leading people taken in by tales of their exploits.
Likewise, the heists they would pull would have to be smaller to not attract too much attention, and due to a lack of manpower and experienced outlaws. All of which would help drive home the idea that the lifestyle is effectively dead.
In the end, it’s impossible to say what direction the hypothetical sequel will take. Currently, Rockstar is putting all of its resources into developingGrand Theft Auto 6andgamers will likely not seeRed Dead Redemption 3until the 2030s. However, if the developer was to follow Jack as the main character it would likely benefit from a story that would ultimately feel like the smallest game in the franchise.
Red Dead Redemption 3is rumored to be in development.
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