Red Dead Redemption 2’s Tense Development Was “Behind Schedule,” “Over Budget,” Says Dan Houser

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When people talk about the best video games of the last two decades, Red Dead Redemption 2 by Rockstar Games always comes up. It’s won countless awards and sold over 77 million copies, making it a classic – a game that consistently appears on “best of all time” lists. However, its creation wasn’t without its challenges.

In a conversation with Lex Fridman, Dan Houser, a co-founder of Rockstar Games and former lead writer, discussed the huge amount of stress the team faced while making Red Dead 2. He admitted they fell behind schedule and went so far over budget that he preferred not to dwell on the costs.

You were working on a game about a cowboy with tuberculosis, but it wasn’t going well. A lot of people questioned whether you could pull it off, which was really discouraging. It was a very stressful time.

Houser believes the game’s success is thanks to his team and the quality of the content itself. He points to the Western setting and its themes as a natural fit, combined with excellent gunplay and realistic horses. He emphasizes that a skilled team and strong source material were key ingredients.

The making of Red Dead Redemption 2 sparked a lot of discussion about excessive overtime – often called “crunch” – within the gaming industry. Reports suggest this led Rockstar Games to change how it approaches development. In fact, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that the delay of Grand Theft Auto 6 was intentional, with management wanting to prevent the intense crunch experienced during the creation of Red Dead Redemption 2.

Although Rockstar Games isn’t currently working on a new Red Dead game, there’s been talk of a possible release on the next Nintendo console, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Rob Wiethoff, who played John Marston, hinted at an announcement about this, then apologized for getting people’s hopes up. He later clarified that some kind of announcement is still expected, so fans should keep an eye out for updates.

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2025-11-03 19:11