New Red Dead by 2027? Bank Says Maybe, But History Says No

Could we really be playing a new Red Dead game in just a few years? Citi thinks it's possible, but history suggests otherwise.

The investment bank recently released a note about GTA 6 and Rockstar, and in it, they floated the idea that a new Red Dead game could launch in 2027 or 2028. According to Yahoo Finance, Citi said that timeline "may not be unreasonable" if Rockstar's claim that GTA 6 didn't cost $1.5 billion to make is true. But let's be real: that's a big if, and an even bigger stretch.

Why? Because Rockstar is notorious for taking its sweet time. Look at the gaps: Red Dead Redemption in 2010, GTA 5 in 2013, Red Dead Redemption II in 2018, and now GTA 6 in 2026. That's years between each major release, and even longer between entries in the same series. So the idea of a new Red Dead just a year or two after GTA 6? That would be shockingly fast for a studio that once spent eight years between Red Dead games.

There's also the way Rockstar works now. The studio tried to develop GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption II at the same time, and if it had pulled that off, GTA 6 could have been out years earlier. But studio head Rob Nelson deemed it too ambitious, reassigning staff from GTA 6 to Red Dead Redemption II to get it finished. These days, Rockstar's teams work on one project together before moving to the next—no more juggling multiple games across offices.

Plus, GTA 6 will likely need extensive post-launch support. Even though Rockstar hasn't announced any online plans, everyone expects a massive online experience similar to GTA Online, supported for years. That alone could tie up resources. But a new Red Dead is still a safe bet eventually—Red Dead Redemption II has sold a whopping 87 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games ever.

So why does Citi think it could happen so soon? Rockstar and parent company Take-Two have hinted at new structures to speed up development. CEO Strauss Zelnick told The Game Business that people shouldn't "confuse long development cycles with a lackadaisical approach," and said recent tech developments could help "compress some development timelines without compromising quality." Rockstar's Phil Hooker also mentioned a hiring spree and tech upgrades to make games faster. But these comments might be aimed more at investors than players.

Only time will tell if we're waiting another eight years for Rockstar's next game after GTA 6. For now, it's just talk. What do you think—could a new Red Dead really arrive by 2027, or is Citi dreaming?