Rockstar’s plans for its two main franchises have been unclear to many fans for some time now. Despite Grand Theft Auto 5 releasing back in 2013, there has been no official news about a sixth game. Red Dead Redemption 2 released in 2018, and as time goes on the possibility of Rockstar developing a major DLC similar to Red Dead Redemption’s famous Undead Nightmare add-on seems to grow increasingly slim.
While some fans want more Red Dead Redemption 2 content, others are hoping that if the studio is not looking to develop another AAA game any time soon, a remaster of the original Red Dead Redemption remaster could be in the works. Here’s the case for both a remaster and Red Dead 2 DLC, and which might be more likely.
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Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC
The original Undead Nightmare flipped Red Dead Redemption on its head, telling a wild non-canon story that saw John Marston searching for a cure to a zombie plague that had taken hold of his family. Fans have been hoping for Red Dead 2’s take on Undead Nightmare ever since the second game released.
There are a few elements that a Red Dead 2 add-on would need to live up to the original. First, it would need to allow player’s access to Red Dead 2’s entire open world again, but with a twist. In the case of the original, this was its zombie enemies. Red Dead 2’s map was far larger than the first game’s, so a reintroduced zombie mode could still feel fresh as players fight the undead in the streets of Saint Denis and other locations that weren’t included in the original Red Dead.
A non-canon side adventure would also allow for the return of Arthur Morgan as the add-on’s main character. Bringing back Roger Clark’s iconic character would likely be popular, and many members of Red Dead 2’s cast have stated their interest in returning to their roles.
An Undead Nightmare-style add-on could allow the performers behind characters like Arthur, Sadie Adler, Hosea, and other fan-favorites to return without impacting the main game’s story or limiting their use in any future Red Dead stories.
It could be interesting to see a Red Dead 2 add-on with the same general principles as Undead Nightmare – a new, shorter campaign in a non-canon version of the world – but one that takes on a different genre. Red Dead 2 already had a penchant for the supernatural. The game includes the vampire of Saint Denis, UFOs, ghosts, not to mention the mysterious Strange Man. Rockstar would need to find a premise, however, that worked as well in the game’s open world as Undead Nightmare’s zombies.
Years after Red Dead 2’s release, a follow-up to Undead Nightmare seems increasingly unlikely. Rockstar seems more focused on Red Dead Online content, and while it is possible that will change, the developer has also suggested that single-player DLC is off the table for now.
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Red Dead Redemption Remastered
In contrast, there’s certainly evidence that Rockstar is interested in remastering some of its older titles. Rockstar recently announced that the 3D Grand Theft Auto trilogy – San Andreas, Vice City, and GTA 3 – would all be getting remasters from Rockstar Dundee.
Other successful recent remasters like Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and the Halo remasters show just how profitable remasters can be for game developers. With Rockstar seemingly still in a period of downtime after the release of Red Dead 2, remastering the first game would make a lot of sense.
While there isn’t any evidence that Rockstar has plans for Red Dead 2 single-player DLC, there is some evidence pointing to a Red Dead 1 remaster. Back in May 2021, a financial report released by Rockstar Games said the studio would be releasing “new iterations of previously released titles.” At least one of those remasters is confirmed to be a “expanded and enhanced” version of Grand Theft Auto 5 and GTA Online.
A Red Dead Redemption 1 remaster seems like a natural choice. The original was a classic, but while it was critically and commercially acclaimed, Red Dead Redemption 2 still sold millions more copies than its predecessor. By 2017, Red Dead 1 had sold around 15 million copies. By 2020, Red Dead 2 had sold nearly 30 million copies.
This gives Rockstar incentive to market a Red Dead Redemption 1 remaster to those fans who played the prequel but not the original. This shouldn’t be hard – Red Dead 2 ended with the player taking on the role of John Marston in the epilogue after Arthur Morgan's death, so many fans will be eager to continue the story from there.
A Rockstar financial report earlier this year said the studio intends to publish 62 games by the end of 2024, and it seems very likely that one of those games will be the Red Dead Redemption remaster. It also states that six of its “new iterations of previously released titles” are aiming for release in 2022. Red Dead Redemption could easily be among them.
Fans hoping for Red Dead Redemption 2 to release any single-player DLC, let alone another iconic add-on like Undead Nightmare, are likely out of luck. Fans hoping for a remaster of the original Red Dead Redemption, however, have more reasons to be hopeful. Although some may be disappointed that fan-favorite Red Dead 2 characters are unlikely to return in a DLC, it could be the best way to preserve the legacy of both Red Dead 2’s story and the original Undead Nightmare. Hopefully a remake, if it is in the works, does Red Dead 1 justice.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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