Rockstar Games has revealed plans for the original Red Dead Redemption after much-fevered speculation in recent months, but sadly, they currently do not include the remake many had hoped for. Instead, the developer is porting Red Dead Redemption and its expansion, Undead Nightmare to PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Nintendo Switch on 17 August 2023.
It appears the game will be visually upscaled to modern resolutions judging by the trailer, something that the pre-existing Xbox 360 version of Red Dead Redemption benefits from when being played on an Xbox Series X/S via backward compatibility. The PS4 version of the game will of course be forward-compatible with the PS5. Unfortunately, a PC version was not announced.
Red Dead Redemption is the critically acclaimed open-world cinematic Western game originally released by Rockstar Games in 2010 for PS3 and Xbox 360. Undead Nightmare is the game’s first and only expansion pack, which reimagines the world with zombies in an alternate universe story. Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in 2018, and it’s likely Rockstar parent company Take-Two hopes to capitalise on an audience hoping for better access to the original title with this port.
The port is being handled by the UK and Malaysia-based Double Eleven Studios, who seem to have had previous experience assisting on games like Fallout 76, Rust, and Minecraft Dungeons. Hopefully, the game will avoid the pitfalls that befell Rockstar’s recent attempts to bring the 3D Grand Theft Auto trilogy to modern platforms, which were plagued with technical issues.
When Red Dead Redemption 2 was first released, the late-game discovery that a significant portion of the original game’s locations were recreated, though largely unused, sparked speculation that a remake of the first Red Dead Redemption could be a possibility.
In mid-2022, reports surfaced that a remaster of Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto IV were cancelled at Rockstar Games, potentially informing the issues of the GTA Trilogy release.
Rockstar Games is currently working on Grand Theft Auto 6, which has no official release date, though reports suggest it may be slated for 2024-2025.
