Rockstar Games is a storied developer with a ton of pedigree within the industry. Part of that comes down to how long it takes and how meticulous it is with games like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto; however, it made a ton of games before that such as Bully, Max Payne, Midnight Club, and more. Slowly the studio transitioned from multiple titles to two main IPs: Red Dead and Grand Theft Auto.
Part of its workflow inherently seems to limit its focus. This is heartbreaking for fans of Bully, but it makes sense from the company’s perspective. This, in some way, likely played a role in the cancellation of Bully 2, and as it stands, the recent announcement and movements around Grand Theft Auto 6 could be concerning for Red Dead fans. It’s hard not to see recent announcements and developments as anything but particularly bad for Red Dead.
Rockstar’s Choice Between GTA 6 and Red Dead
Red Dead Redemption 2 would be a huge success by any company’s standards, yet over time, Rockstar has moved further and further away from supporting it. Fans have been upset about the state of Red Dead Online for months, which never took off as GTA Online did, and the developer recently confirmed it would slow support for RDO to focus on GTA 6. The announcement amounts to slowing support for a game with slow support, which is not a good sign.
It is too early to say definitively, but there is concern that Rockstar could dwindle from being known for two games to being known for one game. If Rockstar feels like it has to make a choice between Red Dead and GTA, the answer is obvious. Both games sold well, but GTA has unprecedented success in the industry.
For comparison, the entire Red Dead Redemption franchise had reportedly sold 44 million units as of May 2022. It’s also worth noting that Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most expensive games ever made, even more reportedly more than GTA 5. Grand Theft Auto, on the other hand, has sold over 370 million units. One could argue there are more entries in the latter franchise, but then GTA 5 itself has sold over 165 million copies as of May 2022. In other words, it’s not even close. That’s not even considering microtransactions brought in by GTA Online vs. Red Dead Online, where the former is obviously more lucrative.
Rockstar is Huge, But Not That Huge
As game development requires more and more manpower, even with advancing technology, big companies can feel the squeeze when a certain quality is not met. Rockstar Games is known for its games, but it’s also known that it crunched on Red Dead Redemption 2. Crunch is something all developers should avoid, as the actual human cost in terms of mental and physical health is not worth it.
The good news is Rockstar is reportedly trying to turn this around. One early report on Grand Theft Auto 6 suggested it would release moderately size and be expanded over time, as a method of avoiding crunch. In other words, Rockstar could find itself supporting both GTA Online and Grand Theft Auto 6 extensively, if the latter lives up to its predecessor. It’s very unlikely Rockstar can replicate the exact success of GTA 5, but it will try, and many will flock to it regardless because of the name.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is ultimately good for GTA fans and good for Rockstar, but it’s not good for Red Dead. It’s even worse for games like Bully. The developer is even outsourcing, effectively, the remakes of Max Payne, showing how little time it has for its other IPs. Older Rockstar titles could get traction in this manner, although the reception of GTA Trilogy: The Definitive Edition has reported axed other remasters like GTA 4 and RDR. But if Rockstar is doing right by its people and avoiding crunching, while also supporting its most successful franchise, that doesn’t leave room for a new Red Dead anytime soon. This is not a justification for crunch whatsoever; it just seems that the human cost, as well as the profits, to do anything but focus on Grand Theft Auto could become tighter and tighter as years move on.
Sure, Rockstar will eventually finish with Grand Theft Auto 6, but whether that’s five years from now or ten years from now remains to be seen. At this point, it could perhaps focus on another Red Dead title instead. But it’s going to look at its options, and from the outside looking in, it’s hard to imagine how Red Dead’s priority would compare to more GTA content. No one wants to lose R ed Dead, but when it comes down to numbers, manhours, profit, and so on, there’s no competing with Grand Theft Auto.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is in development.