Rockstar has stated that Grand Theft Auto 6 will exceed all expectations, which potentially raises the bar for how big Red Dead Redemption 3 could be should it be made. If GTA 6 does indeed live up to what Rockstar and parent company Take-Two is hyping it up to be, then one can only imagine what will be done with the sequel to one of the biggest, most intricately detailed open-world games of all time. RDR3 hasn't been announced, but given how well Red Dead Redemption 2 fared both critically and commercially, it would seem like an inevitability post-GTA 6.

Grand Theft Auto 6 has been in development since 2012, finally being formally confirmed earlier this year. The most notable thing about the game so far is that, while earlier drafts of GTA 6 reportedly featured four playable characters, the idea was streamlined to instead focus on just two, one of whom is the first female GTA protagonist since the original Grand Theft Auto back in '97. Combine that with its focus on a more "Bonnie and Clyde" style narrative and its setting of Miami, Florida, and this is shaping up to be a complete departure from Grand Theft Auto 5.

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Red Dead Redemption 2 gained both fame and notoriety due to its ambition to being not only one of the largest - but also one of the most detailed - open world games ever made. Player character Arthur Morgan has to eat, drink, and sleep to survive, guns need to be actively maintained, and most infamously, horse testicles visibly grow and shrink depending on the weather. The notoriety came from the fact that, in order to achieve this, the Red Dead Redemption 2 team worked 100-hour weeks. It's been reported that Rockstar has since cleaned up its act, and assuming that's true, RDR3 might come out putting its already impressive predecessor to shame.

Both GTA 6 & RDR3 Can Be The Greatest Open World Games Ever Without Crunch

For many, what was done to accomplish Red Dead Redemption's famous attention to detail still hangs over the series and the company as a whole. The worst thing about crunch is how unnecessary it is, more often than not being the result of bad management or planning. News of the crunch laden development of Red Dead Redemption 2 getting out to the public put pressure on Rockstar to improve, and in a twist on how this story typically goes, the pressure seems to have stuck. Rockstar has completely changed for GTA 6 - both in terms of its workplace practices and in the actual tone and nature of its work.

There are many reasons this is a good thing, but one of the biggest is that it could potentially prove that a game on the scale of GTA 6 and RDR3 can be made ethically. It would also allow the story and worlds crafted in these games to stand on their own without that news holding them down, and allow players to enjoy these titles with the knowledge that the devs are okay. With the reported sweeping management changes at Rockstar, combined with the interesting setup for GTA 6, including a rumored new engine, the next few years are shaping up to be very nice for Rockstar and its two flagship franchises. Everything Rockstar has said about GTA 6 has only made it sound even more interesting. If it's everything the company says, then Red Dead Redemption 3 will likely blow everyone away.