Red Dead Redemption 3 Is Set For One Substantial Change

Published Sep 28, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

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While GTA 6 and its inevitable online mode are clearly going to be the focus over at Rockstar Games HQ for the forseeable future, Red Dead Redemption 3 is coming one day. You can count on it. Of course, it'll be a while, but that certainly doesn't mean we can't look forward to it, GTA 6 be damned!

In an old interview, Rockstar Games Co-Founder Dan Houser said he believed Red Dead Redemption 3 would "probably" happen. It's worth remembering that Dan Houser is no longer at Rockstar Games, but Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick also indicated back in 2023 that he expects Red Dead Redemption as a franchise to continue on. There's just one catch.

Red Dead Redemption 3 Will Have One Major Change

Not everyone is on board with this.

As part of a wide-ranging interview on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Houser made it clear Red Dead Redemption 3 will likely happen, just not with him involved. As one of the creative leads on Red Dead Redemption 2, Houser helped to shape the character of Arthur Morgan and the world he inhabited. He even based Morgan's tragic tuberclerosis diagnosis on his grandfather (who, unlike Arthur, fortunately survived).

Houser explained:

"Each of the [Grand Theft Auto] games was kind of a standalone story. It's not quite the same. I think it probably would be, in some ways, sadder if someone continued on Red Dead, because it was a cohesive two-game arc. That might be more sad to hear someone working on that. I don't own the IP ... that’s part of the deal. It's a privilege to work on stuff, but you don't necessarily own it."

So, while Red Dead Redemption 3 could (and probably will) go ahead somewhere down the road, don't expect Dan Houser to be in the mix.

The Fans Aren't Convinced

Obviously this would be a tough change to swallow

Naturally, fans of Red Dead Redemption 2 don't love the idea of a third game going forward without one its lead writers and creative forces.

“Wild how you can create one of the most iconic game universes ever… and then just not own a single piece of it. The gaming industry is ruthless,” one user shared on Reddit.

“Red Dead Redemption 3 without Dan Houser? Feels off," another wrote.

“A Red Dead 3 without Dan Houser is like a Tarantino film without the dialogue," a third fan argued. "They'll sell 30 million copies of a beautiful, hollow shell that proves his genius was the real soul of the series.”

Again, I must stress that any potential Red Dead Redemption 3 is years and years and years away. Like, write down how many years you think it'll be, then add another few years to that. After all, the next Rockstar game after GTA 6 has already been decided, and it certainly isn't a Western. But if the next Red Dead is so far away, maybe Dan Houser could come back for one last ride? If Oasis can get back together, anything is possible.

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