For gamers who want to live the life of a cowboy, there are very few games that do it better than Red Dead Redemption. Although it is over a decade old, it has aged remarkably well in terms of its visuals, gameplay, and its narrative. Although new gamers would benefit greatly from visiting this classic title, it is getting increasingly difficult to access it. This has been caused by a variety of factors, including the PS3's lack of compatibility with other consoles. In the past, gamers could circumvent this problem by streaming, but with the game being yanked off PlayStation Plus, a remaster is needed now far more than ever.
Red Dead Redemption highlights an issue with video game preservation, and how easy it is for even beloved titles to become obscure if developers don't take steps to make their games accessible. There have been rumors that a remaster of the game may be on the way, but there have been just as many reports claiming the opposite. Judging by Rockstar's recent actions, it appears that the company's focus is on GTA 6, making a Red Dead Redemption remaster unlikely in the near future.
The Slow Disappearance of Red Dead Redemption
Developed by Rockstar, Red Dead Redemption was released in 2010. It serves as a spiritual successor to Red Dead Revolver, and it follows John Marston as he attempts to save his family from the government. To do this, he is forced to turn on his former gang members and bring them to justice. The game has been praised for its take on the Western genre, and its compelling story which tackles themes of violence and redemption. It sparked a prequel, Red Dead Redemption 2, which also features John, but spends most of its time focused on fellow gang member Arthur Morgan.
The game was an undeniable hit for Rockstar Games, with over 23 million copies sold. However, it has been getting harder than ever for gamers to experience one of gaming's best cowboy games. Originally, the game was released on PS3 and Xbox 360. Issues arise with the PS3 which, due to its unique cell architecture, has a library of games that is incompatible with the PS4. Many developers got around this issue by remastering their games for the PS4. This is a wise move, as the PS5 is backward compatible with the PS4, allowing those games to be played across multiple console generations.
Rockstar has yet to remaster Red Dead Redemption, though PlayStation gamers have been able to play it thanks to streaming. This was first done through PlayStation Now, and later through PlayStation Plus. After six years of being available for streaming, the game has been taken off Sony's streaming services, vastly limiting access to the game. Gamers on Xbox are in luck, as the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S are backward compatible with the Xbox 360, making the game easily playable.
Is Red Dead Redemption Getting a Remaster?
Rumors of Red Dead Redemption receiving a remaster have been swirling for years, though there has been no official word from Rockstar. Perhaps the closest thing gamers have gotten to official information is a Take-Two Interactive investor report in 2021 revealing that Rockstar has plans for more remasters after the Grand Theft Auto trilogy. Gamers have seen a bit of this with the upcoming Max Payne remakes, which does make one hopeful that Red Dead Redemption may get similar treatment.
Unfortunately, there have also been a fair bit of reports that while a remake may have been on the table at some point, it has since been scrapped. According to Kotaku, its insiders claim that Rockstar gave up on a Red Dead Redemption remaster after the poor reception the GTA trilogy remaster received. Although the remaster modernized three classic games, many gamers complained that the games were full of bugs, had a misfitting art style, and failed to capture the magic of the original titles. Updates have since been released to mend many of the issues though, if Kotaku is to be believed, Rockstar would rather focus on GTA 6 than risk more bad publicity with a disappointing remaster.
Rockstar is an incredibly big company composed of many studios around the world. Nevertheless, there are many signs that it is putting all its all hands on deck for GTA 6. Earlier this year, the company put up a thank-you note on its site. It was addressed to everyone who had worked on GTA 5, and it seemed to mark the end of the game's exceptionally long lifespan. Similarly, in Red Dead Online, a message was added that thanked everyone who has worked on the game. All this seems to suggest that Rockstar is leaving behind its past games to focus on a future that will be dominated by GTA 6.
Red Dead Redemption is indicative of the large issue of video game preservation. As technology advances, some games are unfortunately left in the past. Several important titles within games are near impossible to play legally due to them existing on outdated consoles or publishing rights preventing them from appearing on modern storefronts. The industry needs more of a concerted effort to preserve its most treasured resource - its games!
Gamers are stuck with quite a bittersweet situation. Rockstar's focus on GTA 6 may mean that gamers may finally get the highly anticipated game sooner rather than later. However, this may also mean that a Red Dead Redemption remaster is off the table, at least for now. This is a pity, as the game is both one of Rockstar's greatest titles and one of the best Western cowboy games of all time. Until a remaster is made, or the game finds its way back onto streaming services, PlayStation gamers are unfortunately out of luck.
Red Dead Redemption is available now on PS3 and Xbox 360.