Actually, Rockstar Games wanted to release more remaster versions after GTA: The Trilogy, Red Dead Redemption and GTA IV in particular are said to have been in the room. However, due to the failure of the GTA new versions, the publisher has now decided against it; the focus is on new projects.
Rockstar has lost the desire to remaster
Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto IV are classic candidates for a remaster. Both games were very successful and still enjoyed great popularity years after their release, but are now technically far outdated. GTA IV was released in April 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, RDR followed two years later in May 2010 for the same generation of consoles. Therefore, new versions have probably been in the planning for a long time, but have now been rejected, at least in the short and medium term, as initially reported by the leaker Tez2, who has often been accurate in the past with regard to Rockstar Games. Kotaku wants to be able to confirm the pause of the remasters from its own sources.
The reasons for the shift are presumably diverse, but two causes can be worked out separately. On the one hand, the start of the remaster trilogy with GTA III, GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas was anything but smooth. The new versions initially had to struggle with numerous qualitative deficiencies, which Rockstar subsequently had to successively iron out with patches. The publisher could not avert bad reviews, disappointed players and damage to their reputation; GTA: The Trilogy was featured in a list of the ten lowest rated games of the year on Metacritic. To make matters worse, the sales figures remained below expectations.
Next Gen Update for RDR2 and GTA VI
Internally saw Rockstar According to reports, the GTA new versions are used as a test balloon for further remaster versions – the departure from the latter may not come as a surprise at this point. On the other hand, looking ahead also provides a reason for the premature end: As Kotaku notes, the publisher wants to focus entirely on new projects from now on. This means on the one hand the planned next-gen update of Red Dead Redemption 2 (test of the PC version) for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, but on the other hand also the elephant in the room. GTA VI has most likely been years in the making; Rockstar Games officially confirmed the development in February of this year. That game should soon fully tie up the available resources.