Over the course of two (admittedly quite big) video games, theRed Dead Redemptionseries has crafted an incredibly vivid world. This world is filled with realistic characters and interweaving dynamics, bustling locations, and a handful of memorable factions, all of which take heavy inspiration fromreal-world history.
Tapping into real-world history givesRed Dead Redemptionan extra layer of authenticity, and that authenticity makes its world feel all the more immersive. That’s especially true when those very real historical elements are attached directly to the story’s stakes, such as the case withRed Dead Redemption’s Pinkerton Detective Agency, a faction that a hypothetical futureRed Dead Redemption 3could turn on its head.
A real-life organization founded in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton, the Pinkerton Detective Agency was a private security and investigation company that rose to prominence in the 1860s when it was hired by President Abraham Lincoln to conduct espionage missions against the Confederate forces duringthe American Civil War.
InRed Dead Redemptionand its sequel, the Pinkerton Detective Agency plays a prominent, antagonistic role, with two of its leading members – Agent Milton and Agent Ross – seeking to wipe outlaws out of the West, a quest that leads them into direct confrontation withthe Van der Linde Gang. InRed Dead Redemption 2, the Pinkertons chase Arthur Morgan and the rest of the gang across the West, having been hired by Leviticus Cornwall to apprehend Dutch following the gang’s robbery of one of his trains.
While the Pinkertons don’t manage to capture any of the Van der Linde gang alive in 1899, Agent Ross returns a decade later to finish the job. He capturesJohn Marston’s familyand extorts the ex-outlaw into hunting down his former gang mates. Despite following Ross' orders, Marston never gets to see the freedom he was promised. With all ofRed Dead Redemption’s protagonists being outlaws, the Pinkerton Detective Agency is painted quite clearly as the overarching villain of the series, overtly representing the new kind of law that threatens their way of life.
ButRed Dead Redemption 3could flip fans' perception of the Pinkerton Agency on its head by putting players in the boots of a Pinkerton agent. The game could begin as a sort ofWild West version ofL.A. Noire, where players investigate various crimes and hunt down the outlaws responsible.
This would giveRed Dead Redemption 3the unique opportunity to show what it looks like on the other side of the fence. Thrilling train robberies and daring bank heists might not look so impressive when faced directly with the innocent lives lost in their wake.
Rockstar might be a bit hesitant to base an entire game around the Pinkerton Detective Agency following the real-world organization’s failed attempt to sue the publisher back in January 2019 due toRDR2’s negative portrayal of the agency.
WithRed Dead Redemption 1and2both focusing on themes of urbanization and the sudden downfall ofthe Wild Westfrom an outlaw’s perspective, it might be interesting for the third entry to explore the completely opposite perspective, where the increased urbanization means increased peace, at least in the mind of the player-character at the start of the game.
Red Dead Redemption 2
WHERE TO PLAY
America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.
