10 Things You Didn't Know About Red Dead Redemption

This masterpiece was almost a total DISASTER.

Red Dead Redemption 2 John Marston Cover
Rockstar

It's easy to look back on the success of Red Dead Redemption as a whole franchise - its status as one of gaming's most premier properties well and truly cemented - and assume it was always a smooth path to victory. After all, Rockstar was on a winning streak at the dawn of the 2010s, and an open world cowboy game with this level of writing and fidelity now looks like a total no-brainer.

That, however, couldn't be further from the truth. Red Dead Redemption is one of Rockstar's most notorious titles, and while it turned out great in the end, it still holds a reputation for having a majorly rocky road from conception to release.

The sandbox epic turns ten years old later this year, and while revisiting it is a must (trust me, it still holds up a decade on), the story of what went down behind the scenes is perhaps just as fascinating. It might be one of the biggest games ever released, but there's still a whole bunch you probably didn't know about Rockstar's most unlikely smash-hit success story.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.