Summary
With 24 years of experience in the video game industry, it’s only natural that Rockstar Games has had some hits in its time, and that’s a pretty big understatement. First launched in 1997, backwhen Rockstar was known as DMA Design, theGrand Theft Autofranchise has become one of the most popular properties of all time, across the entire entertainment industry. And while it’s much newer, Rockstar’sRed Dead Redemptionseries has also become one of the most beloved IPs in gaming, with fans still desperately clamoring for a remake of the 2010 original.
As well as being extreme critical successes,theGrand Theft AutoandRed Dead Redemptionfranchisesare also massively commercially successful, withGTA 5alone reportedly making well over $7billion in its lifetime, selling over 185 million copies worldwide and earning absurd amounts of money through microtransactions. When it comes toGTAandRed Dead, there’ll always be money waiting on the table, but that shouldn’t mean that Rockstar just rests on its laurels.
RELATED:Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed Could Be in the Same Boat Very Soon
TheCall of Dutyfranchise has always stuck to a fairly rigid release structure, with the series not missing an annual release since 2005. For a while in the late 2000s and early 2010s, theCall of Dutyfranchise fell into a sort of cyclical pattern with its releases. In 2009,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2released, and it was followed a year later byCall of Duty: Black Ops.Black Opswas then followed byModern Warfare 3, which in turn was followed byBlack Ops 2. ThoughCall of Duty: Ghostswould then come along to break the cycle, this pattern ofModern WarfareandBlack Opsreleases marked a golden age for the franchise, and that era could be returning.
In recent years, theCall of Dutyfranchise has had a bit more variation, with Sledgehammer Games throwing its own hat into the ring in between Infinity Ward and Treyarch entries. Sledgehammer’sCall of Dutyreleases have always been slightly different, but with the recent announcement that it’s creating2023’sCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it seems likely that the franchise is falling back into a familiar pattern, potentially about to cycle between theModern WarfareandBlack Opsfranchises once more. While this is a smart business move, asModern WarfareandBlack Opsare always the franchise’s biggest sellers, this could very quickly lead to dangerous levels of franchise fatigue, and it’s a type of cycle that Rockstar Games should absolutely avoid.
As mentioned up top,Grand Theft AutoandRed Dead Redemptionare by far Rockstar’s most popular and most successful franchises. It would only make sense, then, that Rockstar would want to cycle between these two franchises, and that could be a very real possibility, withGrand Theft Auto 6up next afterRed Dead Redemption 2. While a potentialGTAandRed Deadcycle isn’t the worst scenario imaginable, especially if Rockstar took its time with each entry, it could still lead to franchise fatigue, and fans could potentially miss out on some more unique titles in the process.
Though they’re few and far between, Rockstar’s one-off titles are often some of their most vehemently beloved. Games likeBullyandL.A. Noiremight not be the most successful titles in Rockstar’s portfolio, but they’re equally as memorable asGTAandRed Dead, and they’re both still incredibly unique games. IfRockstarfell into aCall of Duty-like pattern withGTAandRed Dead, then fans could be missing out on more games likeBullyandL.A. Noirein the future.
