New Red Dead Redemption Release Is Destined For Greatness (2024)

Summary

Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption may be coming to PC soon, as an error on the PlayStation Store hints at its launch.
The upcoming PC version will likely be similar to last year's PS4 and Switch ports but with the added potential for modding.
Modding community for Red Dead Redemption 2 has already enhanced the game, suggesting great potential for the original.

While there have long been leaks and rumors indicating that Rockstar's acclaimed Western title, Red Dead Redemption, is coming to PC, an incorrect description for the game on the PlayStation Store may have just revealed its launch on PC is imminent. The game launched back on the PC3 and Xbox 360 in 2010, and while it is available on the Xbox consoles that followed through backwards compatibility, this wasn't the case on PlayStation, where it could only be streamed as part of a PS Plus or PS Now subscription before being pulled to make way for a PS4 port by Double Eleven Studios in 2023. This port was also released on Nintendo Switch, but it's always felt like the PC community has been shafted.

At the time of writing, the game's description on the PlayStation Store says, "Experience the epic western adventures that defined a generation - now on PC for the first time ever." Rockstar hasn't even announced a new release of the game, however, so it's possible that this reveal may come pretty soon. While the PS4 and Nintendo Switch versions weren't the remake many had hoped for - although the PS4 version did include the improved textures that Xbox players had through patches already - it did enable players on those platforms to easily access the game again, even if it did technically have less content, as despite being bundled with the Undead Nightmare DLC, the multiplayer mode from the original release was removed.

The PS4 version of Red Dead Redemption is playable on PS5 as well through backwards compatibility.

Red Dead Redemption's Next Re-Release Already Has More Potential Than Last Year's

Even If It Is The Same As The PS4 And Switch Port

It's highly likely that the version that will be released on PC will be the same as last year's PS4 port and that there has just been a staggered release for PC like there is with other Rockstar titles like GTA 5 or Red Dead Redemption 2, and most likely will be with GTA 6, as that is only due to launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in Fall 2025. Mike York, who worked as an animator at Rockstar New England from 2012 to 2017 on GTA 5, GTA Online, and Red Dead Redemption 2, previously explained on his YouTube channel York Reacts that a PC port takes so long because of its different architecture and components, which require a huge amount of testing due to the various potential hardware configurations players may have, especially for titles with open worlds known to be as feature-rich and vast as Rockstar's.

Even so, the PC version of Red Dead Redemption already has far more potential than any other version of the game. This is because of the modding community, which can elevate the game to new heights, essentially giving fans something closer to the remaster or remake experience they'd been hoping for.

While many were left feeling underwhelmed by the Red Dead Redemption Switch port, there's actually a few ways it improves on the original.

Red Dead Redemption 2's Mods Already Indicate How RDR Can Be Enhanced On PC

From Improved Weather To Better NPC AI, & More

To see just how the modding community could fully unlock Red Dead Redemption's potential, players need not look any further than its prequel, Red Dead Redemption 2. When Red Dead Redemption 2 launched in 2018, it was already highly praised, not only for its powerful storytelling but also for its rich and detailed world. Considering the next generation of consoles were still years away from launching, the sheer detail present in Red Dead Redemption 2 really seemed to push the limits of what last-gen consoles were capable of.

While Red Dead Redemption 2 is available through backwards compatibility on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, it still has yet to receive a next-gen patch like many other games from this generation. Rockstar opted away from doing this practice with GTA 5 but opted for a full re-release for the newer consoles, something that was controversial at the time. There's currently no word of a Red Dead Redemption 2 next-gen update or release of any sort.

Red Dead Redemption 2 was released on PC over a year later, in 2019, and the modding community really took the game to a whole new level. Not only was this the case with enhanced textures or character models like the mods for other games - as Red Dead Redemption 2's default ones are already detailed enough, although there's the likelihood modders could pull the models of John Marston and other members of the Van der Linde gang from the prequel-sequel into Red Dead Redemption upon its PC release - but this saw more changes and modifications to how the game's world was and how characters could interact with it.

One such example is the Vestiga mod, which overhauls Red Dead Redemption 2's open-world to enhance its weather mechanics with more gradual and realistic transitions between weather types and temperature, enhanced visuals to make the world look even richer and more detailed, with even more NPCs on screen at once, and improved AI to get them to interact with each other more often. The mod also brought enhancements to wildlife, making different animals spawn only in realistic locations, and upgrades to the world's flora and terrain that allow for thicker underbrush in forests and the likes of creeks and rivers generating more bubbles and foam if a character jumps into or runs through them for even more realism and better overall reactions.

There have also been extensions to Red Dead Redemption 2's map, with the Nuevo Paraíso - Mexico mod bringing the Mexico section of Red Dead Redemption into the game. Therefore, it's possible that with both Red Dead Redemption titles being on PC with all their assets available, modders could do more map expansions and essentially combine both games' worlds at some point to make the ultimate Red Dead map.

While it would be great to get Red Dead Redemption on PC for the sake of having it readily available natively on every modern gaming platform, the fact that there's so much more potential to push the beloved title to whole new heights makes the release all the more exciting. Hopefully, following the PlayStation Store's listing, Rockstar will make an official announcement soon.

Sources: PlayStation Store, York Reacts/YouTube, Vestiga/Nexus Mods, Nuevo Paraíso - Mexico

Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption is an action-adventure western game from the developers at Rockstar San Diego. A sequel to Red Dead Revolver, Redemption, takes place in 1911 and follows former outlaw John Marston, who must now track down former posse members across the old west after the government kidnaps his family.

Open-World

Adventure

Franchise: Red Dead Redemption
Platform(s): PS3 , Xbox 360 , Switch , PS4
Released: May 18, 2010
Developer(s): Rockstar San Diego
Publisher(s): Rockstar Games
ESRB: M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs
Metascore: 95