Red Dead Redemption 3 protagonist 'first look' created by AI

Red Dead Redemption 3 is still an incredibly long away, and probably won't even be released this generation - but that hasn't stopped technology from birthing the next game's protagonist.

We know that Rockstar Games fully intends to make Red Dead Redemption 3 somewhere down the line, though if it's the next game after GTA VI - or even if it releases this generation - remains to be seen.

Take a look at some of the best Red Dead Redemption 2 wins and fails below!

Most of us are happy enough to dream up concepts for Red Dead Redemption 3 that remain in ours heads. Fans would love to see someone like Charles Smith or Landon Ricketts star in the next game, for example. But one superfan has taken it a step further by using the power of AI to bring Red Dead Redemption 3's imaginary hero to life.

Using an AI image generator, Reddit user Captain-Kula built a very interesting take on the star of the next Red Dead Redemption adventure. I have no idea how or why the AI arrived at this particular look, but I know I like it. Travelling through the Wild West as a Black cowboy would certainly make for a welcome change after Arthur Morgan and John Marston, and could undoubtedly open the door for all manner of new stories.

It should be stressed again, however, that this is just a fan mockup. Red Dead Redemption 3 is a long way off yet.

Speaking with the Jefferies Virtual Global Interactive Entertainment Conference last year (via, VGC), Zelnick compared his company’s major franchises - including Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto - to James Bond, in that they’ll keep going for many, many years to come.

"If it's really, really great, it will keep going," the CEO said. "I don't know if you saw it, I just saw the new Bond film, that was great. You would like every franchise to be James Bond. There are precious few entertainment franchises of any sort that fall into that category, but they do exist. And I think GTA is one of them, I think Red Dead is one of them, NBA is obviously one of them because the game will continue to exist.

"It also requires you to be thoughtful and willing to rest the titles, so you have a sense of, 'wow, this is a rare event,'" Zelnick explained. "I've always said that annualizing non-sports titles runs the risk of burning out the intellectual property, even if it's good. So we take the time to make something we think is incredibly phenomenal, and we also rest titles intentionally so that there's pent-up demand for that title, so it's a special event."

TL;DR? It's gonna be a while.