When the dust eventually settles after Grand Theft Auto 6's release, all eyes will be on Rockstar Games and the Red Dead Redemption franchise. WIth Red Dead Redemption 2 being the third-highest selling video game of all time, It's fair to say that it might have quite a large dedicated fan base eagerly awaiting a third installment. But what would Red Dead Redemption 3 look like? Who will be the main character and what period of time should it cover?
Well, fans of the franchise have their own ideas, and one in particular is an absolute banger. Posting on Reddit, one such fan threw out one of the best ideas ever for Red Dead Redemption 3. As the game's numbers move forwards, they want to see the timeline shift backwards. Another prequel that goes into the early days of Artur, Dutch and Hosea before forming their renowned gang of outlaws. Picture a younger, more naive Arthur being mentored by the iconic leader Dutch as they get into and out of scrapes along the way.
Fans of the franchise are mostly in agreement that getting to grips with Arthur Morgan and his two mentors, Hosea and Dutch, in the early years would be a compelling narrative worthy of our attention. In fact, any chance to slip on Arthurs black gambler's hat again would be amazing. And learning how he grew from an orphaned street rat to a fearsome gunslinger under Dutch Van Der Linde tutelage would make for some great story moments. One Redditor is in complete agreement, saying the following:
Or perhaps getting to play as Dutch himself and other key characters in the early years. As one Redditor put it:
Yes. I'd like it to be an origin story for the entire gang. Starting play as Dutch in his youth, around the time he loses his daddy in the war. We play missions that introduce us to everyone throughout various locations. A whole new map! THREE TIMES the size of RDR2!!!
Not all fans are in full agreement with a Van Der Linde gang prequel though. Some are hoping to see new characters in a new adventure, perhaps set in a different era. One such Redditor posed this idea:
Simply NO. Dutch’s gang already told the story it needed to tell. It tied up the loose ends left from RDR1, and I think it’s time to finally turn the page on that story and those characters.
A lot of people say we still need to see how the Blackwater ferry heist went down, but that event is never going to be shown because it works far better as a narrative device when it’s only talked about rather than actually depicted. It would lose a lot of its impact if they ever showed it in a future installment.
The best thing would be to have a different protagonist, a different gang, and new characters far removed from Dutch and his crew, while still existing within the same universe.
With both Arthur Morgan and Dutch Van Der Linde being two of the most iconic and interesting characters ever brought to life in a video game...it's hard to imagine that there's no more story there to tell. Some fans want to see more of our beloved Arthur Morgan, while others want the game set in a complete new era, such as the Klondike Gold Rush. And let's not forget, there is a large camp of fans who want to continue the adventures of Sadie Adler in Mexico.
Whatever path Rockstar Games choose to go down next, it's clear that they're not starved for ideas. With Grand Theft Auto 6 just around the corner, the next installment of Red Dead Redemption might be a few years away, but the buzz of excitement for more wild west shenanigans is not going away any time soon. I'd be happy with more free content for Red Dead Redemption 2 while we wait to hear more. Undead Nightmare 2 perhaps while we wait?
