Dan Houser Was Surprised ‘How Angry Some People Were’ At Red Dead Redemption’s Iconic Ending

Spoilers for Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 follow.

The ending of 2010’s Red Dead Redemption is an all-timer. For dozens of hours, we’re placed in control of protagonist, John Marston, as he wanders across the American West in search of revenge against his former gang leader, Dutch Van der Linde. He, of course, gets it in a snowy showdown in one of its final missions. But John doesn’t get to live out his life in peace. That would be far too tidy an ending. Instead, the outlaw is gunned down by members of the army at his family farm’s barn.

It was a novel twist at the time. Open-world games, and games in general, didn’t do this. It initially split opinion, but has since gone down as a masterstroke in narrative design. …