Ever since PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite shocked the world with their Battle Royale style gameplay, many gamers have wondered what other franchises would be getting that mode in their titles. We already know that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be one such title, but many have wondered if Red Dead Redemption 2 would be next. It would fit in a way, and would be unique given the western theme, but is Rockstar Games up for that? Well, the team has weighed on it.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was in an earnings call recently and noted that while it’s easy to follow a popular trend, it doesn’t lead to innovation:
“I think if one changed one’s business to follow other people’s big hits, you’d be constantly playing catch up,” Zelnick explained. “And to say you wouldn’t be in second place is an understatement. You might remain in last place. So it’s our job to innovate, and more often than not that has driven our success.”
That being said, he did praise the game for rising above expectations and now being a staple in the gaming industry:
“So I think the fact that Fortnite surprised everyone, particularly given where Fortnite came from–after all, what is now in the market is based on a prior release that did not perform all that well. It’s just a reflection of the fact that if you innovate and give consumers what they want, you can get an extraordinary result. And while we would love to corner the market in hits, and we certainly see it as our job to do so, we don’t have all of the hits and we shouldn’t expect to.”
While this doesn’t confirm or deny whether Red Dead Redemption 2 will be getting a Battle Royale mode, it might be enough to know that should it get one, it’ll be innovative and unique.
