Red Dead Redemption 2 is both one of the most critically acclaimed games of the past decade and one of the best-selling titles in the same time span. In 6 years since it was launched, the sequel/prequel has sold over 67 million units, as per Rockstar Games’ latest earnings call. This figure is up by roughly 2 million from the last quarter, which means that the entire franchise is a stone’s throw away from selling over 100 million copies.
To put this into context, the Red Dead franchise, composed of only three titles—Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption, and Red Dead Redemption 2—is about to join elite company with other brand names made up of more than a dozen games.
While Rockstar’s “other” best-selling franchise, Grand Theft Auto, trumps Red Dead Redemption’s number by a fair amount, the fact that the series has achieved this much success in such little time is amazing. At the same time, it does make you wonder, when is Rockstar going to give in to fan demands and re-release Red Dead Redemption 2 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X?
After retiring Red Dead Online to focus, presumably, on Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar hasn’t done much with the franchise. But Strauss Zelnick did confirm in the past that the IP is still very much part of the company’s future plans, which is good news.
Additionally, the dripfeed monthly content releases for Red Dead Online and Red Dead does guarantee that it stays atop everyone’s mind—not that it needs help doing so as fans continue to replay and praise RDR2’s groundbreaking graphics even though a graphics upgrade isn’t available on modern consoles.
With Red Dead Redemption now available on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and the PC, where it has sold well, we can only assume that a PS5 and Xbox Series S/X port of RDR2 is next on the docket. Otherwise, it would be a missed opportunity to flex the power of the RAGE engine, especially now that the PS5 Pro is out.
Then again, with Red Dead selling so well with minimal effort, maybe Rockstar is content letting things be as it prioritizes GTA.
Red Dead Redemption 3 is technically not confirmed to be in development.
