Even though Grand Theft Auto is Rockstar Games’ juggernaut, Red Dead Redemption is by no means dwarfed by its flagship franchise. Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the highest selling video games of all time, with both games in the series being widely considered some of the best video games ever developed. Rockstar Games is a very different beast in 2020, and depending on how Grand Theft Auto 6 turns out, that will in turn greatly affect the next Red Dead Redemption game.
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Responding to Crunch Concerns
Development changes are occurring at Rockstar Games for a number of reasons, but mainly in response to some controversy about its development methodology. Game development “crunch” is pervasive throughout the whole industry, not just big-budget publishers and studios. It represents the time where developers work the hardest and longest hours to meet a development/release deadline for a game. Rockstar Games’ “crunch culture” controversy garnered great backlash, and as a result, has taken on a more incremental approach.
To the publisher’s benefit, it’s been noted that Rockstar’s work culture has improved drastically thanks to those testimonials. As a result of these changes, game development on key projects like Grand Theft Auto 6 will be very different compared to previous games. For example, Rockstar has implemented a consistent and incremental development approach for Grand Theft Auto 6. The game will initially release “moderately sized” for Rockstar’s standards (meaning it’ll still be huge, just not ginormous), and then be expanded with regular post-launch updates throughout the game’s lifespan. Rockstar’s goal is to help “mitigate stress and crunch” while still providing a worthwhile experience up to par with Rockstar’s earlier work.
This is by all means a worthy goal and Rockstar should be praised for such an action. However, the industry has perpetuated crunch for a reason, however ill-conceived, an that’s in part due to expectations when it comes to development time frames and more. This is a better long term solution, but the key word there is long term.
Uncertainty for Future Rockstar Games
From a strictly game development level, this does pose some uncertainty for Grand Theft Auto 6 and equally if not more uncertainty for the next Red Dead Redemption title. Development on Red Dead Redemption could take the same route that Grand Theft Auto Online does, albeit in a different game universe. The blossoming of Grand Theft Auto Online over time brought the game’s depth far beyond what was initially given to players in the beta. Grand Theft Auto has proven that an incremental development approach can succeed, but it’s hard to say if a game like Red Dead Redemption can also garner success from a similar model.
Some of that uncertainty can be seen when examining Red Dead Online. Obviously the success of Red Dead Online pales in comparison to Grand Theft Auto Online simply because of the nature of the games. Grand Theft Auto will always have broader appeal because of its simplistic, realistic nature. That being said, Red Dead Online is seeing similar success on a microcosmic scale, but not to the same effect as Grand Theft Auto Online. The Red Dead Redemption series is all about capturing an often romanticized portion of American history, focused mostly on a compelling singleplayer narrative and engrossing world. Shifting a project like that to an incremental development model would mean a constantly evolving narrative like a TV show, which has been done for games before, but to varying degrees of success.
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GTA 6 Will Shape Red Dead’s Future
As much as Red Dead Redemption is its own entity, the reception of the next Grand Theft Auto game will certainly affect how the next Red Dead game is developed. Transforming Rockstar’s various development studios in response to crunch is great for the employees for now, but some have expressed concerns that crunch may become worse as time goes on. Developers fear that will put a strain on Grand Theft Auto 6’s development pipeline as deadlines draw near, and this new approach could be a big risk for the publisher, one that could seriously affect the games Rockstar produces.
The Red Dead Redemption series is also not a franchise built with as much malleability as Grand Theft Auto games have. Grand Theft Auto games have jumped across various cities and different time periods across the United States and the world. Red Dead has always had a clear focus: a wild western open-world adventure set in the early days of modern US history. Granted there’s still some flexibility there, but for the most part it’s a far more condensed area that can be explored both narratively and gameplay-wise. Taking an incremental development approach to Red Dead Redemption could be counter-productive to the game’s overall quality. At the same time, as long as updates and content continue the Red Dead story in meaningful ways without overstaying its welcome, it could prove innovative.
Only time will tell how an incremental model affects Rockstar’s franchises in general, but Read Dead Redemption specifically may see some growing pains in its future.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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