Terminator 3: The Redemption was produced by video game production studio Paradigm Entertainment in 2004. It was the first movie license that the studio had to work with. The lead game designer, Shawn Wright indicated in a GameSpy interview that this provided many advantages such as an existing universe and characters, but also said that a disadvantage is that content needed to be sent out to California to be approved. Aspects of the game were influenced by Grand Theft Auto III though the development team were careful not to create a GTA clone. Paradigm has stated that 50 percent of the gameplay is vehicle-based, 25 percent with rail and the final 25 percent is character combat. The fast pace of the game was a conscious decision by the developers of the game. Producer Josh Hackney said, "We didn't want to take the gameplay and player control away from the player for more than five seconds." A feature developed for the game, but removed in the final version was the use of mission timers. The timer required the player to finish the level within a set time otherwise they will not progress. The final product used timers but were made unnecessary to finish the level. Instead, the timer remains but the player can progress onwards after completing the mission in any amount of time. If the mission is completed within the time limit then the player will be rewarded.

The story starts in the year 2032 with a squad of Tech-Com soldiers storming a Skynet facility just in time to stop a T-X from entering the time displacement machine. However, they are no match for the T-X's superior capabilities and all are gruesomely killed

Meanwhile, Katherine Brewster and the Human Resistance ambush the T-850 that was responsible for the death of John Connor. a Tech-Com technician reprograms the cyborg to be sent back to 2003 to protect Kate and John's earlier selves. The T-850, with the assistance of several Tech-com soldiers manages to fight his way to the main gate of the Skynet bunker and he "travels back to 2003 to ensure the survival of John Connor and Katherine Brewster". The game parallels most of the main events of the third Terminator film until reaching a plot twist at the middle. During the T-850's battle with the T-X in the Cyber Research Systems building, instead of losing the fight and being reprogrammed by the T-X, he is thrown into an electro-magnetic accelerator which is revealed to be a primitive time displacement machine, and is sent back to an alternate 2032 where he discovers that both Kate and John have been terminated and humanity exterminated. The Terminator once again fights his way through Skynet and sends himself back to 2003. He appears just in time to fight off the T-X with John and Kate trying to escape to Crystal Peak. The T-850 prevents the T-X from reaching John and Kate by blocking her route to them. He places his damaged fuel cell in her mouth, thus leading to the destruction of both Terminators. Terminator 3: The Redemption has received 68% aggregate score from review collectors Metacritic and Game Rankings. In a GameZone review, it was noted that Terminator 3: The Redemption uses shoot 'em up elements that are similar to Terminator 2: The Arcade Game. The overall pace of the game was praised in the review but hand to hand combat was criticised for being too sluggish, and like a slow wrestling game. GameZone thought that the best parts of the game were when the gameplay was based around using a land or air vehicle. The graphics were praised in places such as the look of crumbling buildings, but it was said the vast majority of the game looked dated. WebWombat rated the game 70% and in the review stated that the Terminator 3: The Redemption's pace is its best feature and keeps the player entertained. The review also pointed out that the graphics are nothing spectacular and the biggest flaw of the game is the repetition in gameplay. IGN compared the game to Die Hard Trilogy on the PlayStation which consists of three games with distinct styles of gameplay, but unlike Die Hard, Terminator 3: The Redemption mixes all the styles in a single game. IGN's review also stated that the hand to hand combat is a weaker point in the game. Overall, IGN called the Terminator 3: The Redemption a "solid effort" and rated it 70%.