Red Dead Redemption 2 — A Marketing Masterclass from Rockstar Games
Only a remarkable marketing team can sell the same game twice. The story of a unique studio and the marketing magic behind their magnum opus.
Rockstar Games’ journey to prominence has not always been an easy one, and yet the studio rarely fails to build near-unparalleled levels of anticipation around their game launches. This hype translates to sales; the studio has now sold more than 24 million console copies of Red Dead Redemption 2. Following the game’s recent PC rerelease, sales will continue to grow. But just how does a studio market the same game twice and have such success?
A Unique Games Studio
Rockstar is a game developer like no other. Originating in 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, the tiny studio grew under the leadership of brothers Sam and Dan Houser into a blockbuster-producing powerhouse.
Before Red Dead Redemption came the Grand Theft Auto series. Over the course of more than two decades, GTA established itself as nothing short of a phenomenon. Controversial, ground-breaking, and innovative, each successive GTA game has not only made a significant cultural impact but has surpassed the last in its financial success. The latest instalment, GTA V, has sold over 90 million copies and generated a staggering $6 billion since its 2013 release. This likely means that it is the most financially successful media title of all time, far surpassing the revenue of hit movies such as Avatar and Avengers Endgame.
While 2010’s Red Dead Redemption and 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2 are both story-driven, realistic, open-world games like GTA, the cowboy series origins lay in a less popular, third-person shooter title, 2004’s Red Dead Revolver. Despite only achieving moderate success with just under a million copies sold in North America, Rockstar’s executives immediately recognised potential. Over the course of the next five years, they built upon the shooter’s foundations to create Red Dead Redemption, one of the most expensive and expansive open-world games ever to have been made.
Their decision paid off; Red Dead Redemption received critical acclaim, earned multiple Game of the Year Awards, and sold more than 15 million copies by 2017. Fans and critics alike praised the games action-packed gameplay and emotive storytelling based in the dying era of the Wild West gunslinger.
Eight years later, Rockstar achieved universal approbation once again with a sequel that many consider to be their magnum opus. Red Dead Redemption 2 skyrocketed through the charts, making $725 million within three days. As of Q3 2019, RDR2 had shipped almost 25 million copies worldwide.
How do they do it?
With almost 2000 people working on the project, photo-realistic graphics, unparalleled animation, and unrivalled attention to detail, Rockstar’s ability to make a world-class game is undeniable. Yet to achieve that volume of sales in such a short time frame, it is evident that marketing prowess also lay behind their success.
The studio has never been afraid to take risks with their storytelling. The Red Dead franchise is a unique and sometimes dark take on one of the more controversial periods of US history. The Gamechangers, a star-studded BBC dramatization documented Sam Houser’s legal battles with conservative attorneys concerned by the series’ violent gameplay. While earning them enemies and negative press, their audacity also earned them a cult fan following. Much of their success comes from a marketing strategy built upon the same ethos of risk and ingenuity.
Their marketing team has an ability to create hype by thinking outside the box and breaking from the status quo. On October 16th, 2016, Rockstar Games twitter account posted a single tweet with the company’s logo on a red background — having the (no-doubt anticipated) consequence of sending their fans into a frenzy of anticipation.
[Insert picture of tweet]
The ‘Twittersphere’ was immediately alight with speculation. Fans’ hopes were all-but-confirmed a day later when the company sent out a second tease — a picture of seven silhouettes in front of a setting sun. Keeping their momentum building and ensuring the hype was not reserved for their most dedicated fans, they released the first trailer a few days later — showcasing the game’s environment. Second and third trailers, revealing characters and storyline, were not released until September 28th, 2017 and May 2nd, 2018.
A further firestorm of ‘Red Dead Fever’ gripped the world a month before the game’s release on October 26th, 2018. Once again, Rockstar decided upon unconventional tactics to create buzz. Rather than the usual promotional tours and late-night shows, the studio opted for an aggressive strategy of ‘painting the world red’. From billboards in Tokyo, to busses in Australia, to truck mud-flaps in Thailand, their advertisements appeared around the globe.
Truck mud-flaps in Thailand
A billboard in Tokyo
A Bus in Melbourne, Australia
Alongside gigantic tower-block sized murals, they were able to create a level of intrigue that transcended traditional gaming audiences and ensured that seemingly everyone was talking about the game. Rockstar have not released the details of their worldwide marketing budget, although some sources estimate a figure of $200 million.
A giant mural in Hollywood
Given that the total marketing budget for GTA V was $137m, these estimations seem reasonable. And the spending strategy proved more than fruitful with the game immediately dwarfing its competition on the charts. Admittedly, the marketing team had the advantage of Rockstar’s long-cultivated cult status, and yet with a relatively simple campaign, they were able to achieve the most profitable opening weekend in entertainment history. In eight days, Red Dead Redemption 2 sold more games than the original Red Dead Redemption sold in eight years.
A Re-Release, A New Approach.
More than a full year after its console release date, RDR2 has now been rereleased on PC. While pundits anticipated the move, Rockstar kept fans speculating about when it would occur. On September 17th 2019, Rockstar launched its online PC store and hub, Rockstar Games Launcher — once again subtly building anticipation.
Rockstar drew fans to the store with a freely redeemable digital copy of 2004’s popular GTA San Andreas as well as the ability to purchase other Rockstar Games classics such as Bully and L.A. Noire.
On November 5th, they rereleased RDR2 on the platform. The game was also made available for purchase elsewhere (Epic Games Store sells the game and a Steam release is expected imminently). They were able to draw even more customers to their store by providing pre-order in-game bonuses.
For the rerelease, the hype-building Twitter tricks from the original launch were unnecessary. Instead, they emphasized the technical details of their game and showcased the games enhancements on PC, including increased draw distance, improved lighting and shadows, new textures, and a 4K/60FPS experience. Rather than embark on another costly advertising campaign, they were now able to rely on the game’s reputation and gaming media to ensure sales. While the launch was not problem-free, Rockstar once again managed to get gamers everywhere talking about Red Dead Redemption 2.
Conclusions
The reasons for Rockstar Games’ marketing success are multifold. They adopt an attitude of audacious risk-taking, breaking-the-mould advertising tricks, go-big-or-go-home budgeting, and they only reveal their hand at the opportune moment. At the same time, there is a simplicity to their strategy. They know that by keeping their true fans excited with ground-breaking games, then they can trust people to come out in number and buy their games, and sometimes, they will even buy them twice.
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