Red Dead Redemption 2 is already widely considered one of the best video games of all time. But any gamer will tell you that awards don’t always mean commercial success. In the 2018 title’s case, though, it’s a premier gaming experience and a best-selling title in one.
Amidst all the commotion regarding the Grand Theft Auto 6 delay, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed to investors on November 6 that the Western epic has become the fourth-best-selling title of all time with 79 million units sold. It has now comfortably outsold Mario Kart 8 and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds despite being effectively dead for over three years.
According to Zelnick, Red Dead Redemption 2 is also the best-selling title of the last 7 years in the United States based on dollar sales, outselling Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Hogwarts Legacy, and Elden Ring.
As a whole, Red Dead Redemption has sold over 160 million units. It’s amazing how the franchise has grown from cult favorite status to mainstream phenomenon. Although after finding out how Dan Houser thinks of it as a whole, especially given how personal the series, particularly the sequel, is to him, it’s no longer that surprising that it’s become so good and so beloved.
Several factors contribute to the sustained success of Red Dead Redemption 2. The game receives frequent sales promotions, often dropping to twenty dollars or less during major retail events, and the game’s reputation for quality and scope has also been built over time through positive word-of-mouth and critical acclaim.
The only question now is, what’s next for Red Dead?
If you ask Dan Houser, Red Dead Redemption 3 is inevitable, even though it would hurt to see the game made without him. However, Rockstar is busy with GTA 6, and that game isn’t expected to come out anytime soon. Given the five-year gap between the release of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2, we might not catch a whiff of the next Red Dead game until the early 2030s if not much later.
In the meantime, though, we’re hoping that Rockstar will at least humor us by confirming the status of the long-rumored Red Dead Redemption 2 update, which apparently includes a Nintendo Switch 2 port.
