A remake or remaster of the original Red Dead Redemption has been through the rumor mill time and again, but various leaks in recent months have suggested that fan wishes could finally be granted in the not-too-distant future. The same leak suggested that Grand Theft Auto 6 has an aimed release window in 2023, and would release after a Red Dead remaster.
While that particular leak is far from confirmed, there are reasons that a Red Dead Redemption remake or remaster should come before Grand Theft Auto 6. Based on the development of Red Dead 2 and developer comments about a future GTA game, there’s a strong case to be made to return to the West before diving back into the city life.
Cracking The Crunch
Red Dead Redemption 2 may be one of Rockstar’s most critically acclaimed releases, but its development was not without its problems. The creation of Red Dead 2 saw many developers working long “crunch time” hours, leading Rockstar to be criticized for its crunch culture. Some changes were reportedly made in response to the criticism, but without a major Rockstar release since Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar’s reliance on crunch time has yet to be put to a true stress test.
Whether it is a remaster or a full remake, any project based on the original Red Dead Redemption would not require the resources needed to develop a full game from the ground up. It could provide a good stepping stone, allowing the studio to experiment with other kinds of development processes without the pressure of releasing a truly gargantuan game like Red Dead Redemption 2.
Working on content for Red Dead Online, GTA Online, and a Red Dead Redemption remake could be a necessary period of downtime for a company which has come under so much fire for its high-stress development processes. If Grand Theft Auto 6’s development were in full swing now, it seems likely that developers would be faced with more crunch time as the studio began to feel the pressure. Ultimately, in this sort of scenario, it’s a win-win for everyone: work that, hopefully, isn’t as stressful and a return to one of its most popular games on presumably PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Grand Theft Auto’s Satire
There are also some good reasons for the Grand Theft Auto series may be better left on the backburner for now. One of Rockstar’s founders, Dan Houser, left the company in 2018 in part due to the 100-hour workweeks required to finish Red Dead Redemption 2. Before he left, however, he also talked about some of the worries developing satire like GTA’s in the time since the last game released, effectively stating that the satire would quickly become outdated.
If Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to feel relevant, the game’s developers will need perspective on the current moment. After a year that saw a pandemic begin, a presidential election, and many other unprecedented events, it’s hard to imagine that a version of Grand Theft Auto 6 developed now would have the necessary perspective to satirize the current moment well.
Instead, any Grand Theft Auto game developed now would likely end up feeling like a satire of the culture of the late 2010s, not the 2020s. With the world still wrapping its head around current events, fans of the franchise’s trademark satirical edge would likely find themselves disappointed if a GTA game released and felt either like a direct reflection of current events, or worse, felt immediately dated.
Ultimately, it seems likely that Grand Theft Auto 6 is a long way away. Though there have been plenty of rumors, Rockstar has not really revealed anything about the game or if it is even in development. All this uncertainty, however, could make a safer bet like a remaster or remake of the original Red Dead Redemption all the more likely in the next few years.
Both Grand Theft Auto 6 and a remaster of Red Dead Redemption are rumored to be in development.
