Both GTA and Red Dead Redemption are some of Rockstar's biggest franchises. GTA still continues to make money and Red Dead Redemption has made the case it is here to stay after the second game's success. With both games having a lot in common with their open-world take on gameplay, some have theorized if the two series are actually connected.
Rockstar has noticed this and decided to have a bit of fun with this idea, including nods to GTA in Red Dead Redemption and vice versa. These nods and easter eggs seem to indicate that the two may in fact actually be connected to one another.
Dutch Name Drops A GTA IV Character
After a bank heist gone terribly wrong, Arthur, Dutch, and some of the gang escape Saint Denis on a boat that then shipwrecks, stranding them on the island of Guarma. It's not long before they are captured by the island's overlords, Spanish imperialists. When questioned on their identities, Dutch identifies himself as Aiden O' Malley.
Aiden O' Malley was a minor character in GTA IV who the game's protagonist, Niko Bellic, is tasked with killing in the Tunnel of Death mission. Perhaps GTA IV's Aiden had an ancestor with the same name.
Sandy Shores Has Red Dead Redemption Locales As Street Names
Sandy Shores is a small town located in the deserts just outside of Los Santos. Memorizing street names is the last thing most GTA players would do but Red Dead Redemption fans will take note of Sandy Shores' street names as they share them with locales from New Austin, an area in Red Dead Redemption.
There is a Cholla Springs avenue that is named after a region from New Austin as well as an Armadillo Avenue that is named after a town in the western game.
Red Dead Redemption' Sasquatch Hunter Seemingly Has A Descendant In GTA
Ever since the GTA: San Andreas bigfoot myth, Rockstar has had fun with the myth of sasquatch in its games. In the Undead Nightmare DLC for the first Red Dead Redemption, John Marston is tasked with tracking down a group of them by a hunter with a fur hat and scar over his one eye.
Fast forward to GTA V and Franklin can encounter a sasquatch hunter of his own after the player 100 percent completes the game. This hunter has a similar-looking fur hat with a scar over the same eye as the Red Dead one. The GTA hunter also says he hopes to make his great-grandfather proud. Could the Red Dead hunter be this guy's great-grandfather?
UFOs In Both Games Look Similar To Each Other
Red Dead Redemption and GTA are the last games where people expect to find aliens, but both have UFO Easter eggs that you can find. Veterans of both games will note, however, that the UFOs in both games have similar appearances to one other.
On top of both having the classic flying saucer appearance, both spaceships have similar light patterns, specifically toward both the top and bottom of the ships. It seems aliens have been examining Earth for quite a while now if GTA and Red Dead Redemption are anything to go by.
The Double Action Revolver Treasure Hunt In GTA: Online
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Prior to Red Dead Redemption 2's release, Rockstar released an update that provided players with a treasure hunt quest in GTA Online. Completing it rewards a golden double action revolver and a quest to get 50 headshots with the weapon. Completing that unlocks the weapon for use in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Sure enough, if you get the game, the revolver is there for Arthur to use and seemingly confirms that the weapon in GTA Online is the very same weapon that Arthur used during his days in the Van Der Linde gang.
Edmund Lowry's Revolver Is In Both Series
Edmund Lowry was a serial killer in Red Dead Redemption 2 that players could track down in the game's story mode as a side mission. A revolver belonging to him can be found in Red Dead Online and has a disturbing appearance. It is silver with "you're next" written in what seems to be blood as well as tally marks on the weapon's grip.
The same exact gun with the same exact look manages to turn up in GTA Online as well by tracking down and killing a serial killer in Blaine County who happened to have it on him. These games sure love their serial killers.
The Stone Hatchet Is In Both Games As Well
It is not just revolvers that show up in GTA and Red Dead Redemption, but hatchets as well. The Stone hatchet shows up in the online editions of both games as a melee weapon.
In Red Dead Redemption 2 it can be found at a Native American burial site, while in GTA Online, it can be found by turning in five bounty hunting targets. It looks like the weapon managed to find its way to the San Andreas area at some point in time.
The Kraff Descendant Shows Up In Red Dead Redemption 2
Kraff is a deity associated with the Epsilon program in GTA V and is seemingly capable of mystical and mysterious powers. In that series, they have descendants marked with a birthmark over their right eye.
Meanwhile, in Red Dead Redemption 2, players can meet Francis Sinclair, who lives in a cabin a bit to the north of Strawberry. Not only does he seem completely out of place by his accent and mannerisms, but he also has a birthmark over his right eye. It is very possible that Francis Sinclair may in fact be the Kraff Descendant.
Madam Nazar Shows Up In GTA As A Fortune Telling Machine
Madam Nazar is a traveling collector in Red Dead Online who introduces the player to the collector trade route. She is a strange woman who also seems to be a psychic of sorts.
In GTA Online, a fortune telling machine called Nazar has a woman who looks identical to Madam Nazar from Red Dead and also makes references to that series. Notably, she references the strange man from the first Red Dead Redemption by saying she sees a strange man with a top hat.
A Book Called Red Dead Shows Up In GTA V
An easy-to-miss Easter egg is a book called Red Dead, which can be found on a book shelf at Franklin's house in GTA V. Looking at the shelf will reveal the book and that it was written by one J. Marston. Now, this probably isn't Red Dead Redemption's John Marston who wrote this, but rather his son Jack, who was being pushed towards a more honest and studious lifestyle.
That didn't happen, obviously, but hopefully, he was able to find the redemption his father found and went on to write this book about not only the Van Der Linde gang's exploits, but also getting back at the government for betraying his father.