Houser recalled that development fell behind schedule and that the project ran far over budget. He said the team was trying to craft a story about a cowboy suffering from tuberculosis while the game itself still felt incomplete — an emotionally heavy subject that compounded the production’s strain.
He avoided naming individuals, but acknowledged the difficult atmosphere during that period. “At that point a lot of people began to doubt the project,” he said, noting how demoralizing that uncertainty could be.
After an arduous eight-year development, Red Dead Redemption 2 ultimately became a major success — lauded by critics and sellers of tens of millions of copies, its reputation has remained strong in the years since release.
The game has also inspired an active modding community: creators have transformed the Western simulator in wild directions, from arcade-style fighters to unsettling mods that force you to relive the memories of dying NPCs.
