Rockstar co-founder says Red Dead Redemption shouldn't continue

Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser believes that Red Dead Redemption 2 is the greatest game he worked on. A prequel that somehow made fans love a new protagonist more than the one they already knew, it's considered to be a storytelling peak by many gamers for the medium, and Houser thinks it should be best left alone.

"Each of the [Grand Theft Auto] games was kind of a standalone story," Houser said in a lengthy interview on the Lex Friedman podcast. "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. But again, that probably will happen too. I don't own the IP. That was sort of part of the deal - it's a privilege to work on stuff, but you don't necessarily own it."

Right now, Rockstar has its own behemoth to deal with in delivering Grand Theft Auto VI. The past few releases from the studio have concerned either GTA or Red Dead, so perhaps that trend will continue after we get Grand Theft Auto VI, whenever it releases.

It's hard not to see Houser's point, though, as if we think about where a potential Red Dead Redemption 3 could go, it's hard to see it matching the potential of the past two games. Jack Marston's story could be interesting, but it might feel like treading water, and to go further into the gang's past might not give us enough new material.

Where would you see the story go for Red Dead Redemption 3?