Rumors about a Red Dead Redemption remaster have circulated for quite some time now. Developer Rockstar Games did recently announce Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Remastered, but it has remained silent on whether or not Red Dead Redemption will receive a similar treatment. However, a Red Dead Redemption remaster would undoubtedly be welcomed by fans of the series. After the success of Red Dead Redemption 2, it would likely be a financial success.
However, developer Rockstar Games has a massive library of classic IP under its name that it could remaster. Series like Max Payne and Midnight Club both have devoted followings that have been pining for new releases for many years, and would likely jump on a remaster quickly. However, Red Dead Redemption is a prime candidate for a remaster, and would even make more sense for the company to focus on before releasing more remasters from Grand Theft Auto, or even Grand Theft Auto 6. Luckily, a Red Dead Redemption remaster seems very likely in due time.
Why Red Dead Redemption Should be Remastered Before GTA
Red Dead Redemption became a near-instant classic when it was released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2010. The game took Rockstar's open-world approach to the wild west and found a lot of success in its interpretation of American culture, as well as look at the death of the Cowboy through the lense of classic game characters.
However, the game was never released on PC. This is very strange as the game did not have an exclusivity deal at the time with either Xbox or PlayStation, and most Rockstar games make their way to PC a short while after console counterparts. This would put a Red Dead Redemption remaster in a great position to finally bring Red Dead Redemption to PC, as well as deliver all of the other improvements that players have come to expect from remasters.
Bringing the game to PC would allow fans who enjoyed Red Dead Redemption 2 to finally experience the games for themselves, while they can already experience most Grand Theft Auto titles on the platform in a few different ways. A remaster of Red Dead Redemption would also make sense as the next new game from Rockstar is very likely to be Grand Theft Auto 6.
There have been numerous leaks and rumors about the new entry in the series, and it is all but confirmed to be coming. With how long the gap between Grand Theft Auto 5 and Grand Theft Auto 6 has been, this means that it will very likely be years until Red Dead Redemption 2 gets a proper sequel, leaving a Red Dead Redemption remaster as the perfect candidate to help fill that gap.
How Likely a Red Dead Redemption Remaster is
Thankfully, a Red Dead Redemption remaster does seem likely. Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two announced at a recent earnings call that it was working on a number of remasters across its entire portfolio of IP and titles. The recently revealed Grand Theft Auto remasters are part of those plans, but there are still a handful of remasters in the works that the industry has yet to hear anything about. Rumors have circulated that the Red Dead Redemption remaster depends on the success of Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Remastered, but that remaster will undoubtedly be a success with how popular the Grand Theft Auto series is.
The remaster also seems likely due to how updates for Red Dead Online have noticeably slowed down in recent months. The developers have confirmed that they are still committed to updating and improving the game. However, the development of updates for Red Dead Online has reportedly been slowed by the development of Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Remastered, and it seems plausible that the development is also being impacted by a remaster of Red Dead Redemption. Regardless, a Red Dead Redemption remaster seems very likely to happen at some point in the future, and it could be more of a question of when rather than if.
What a Red Dead Redemption Remaster Could Look Like
If Red Dead Redemption does receive a full remaster, there is a lot of potential for how the developers could approach it. It seems likely that multiplayer would be missing from a remastered Red Dead Redemption to keep it from competing with Red Dead Online. However, Red Dead Online players have called for a Mexico DLC for quite some time now. A remastered Red Dead Redemption would be a great opportunity to add the region to the online experience by integrating the remaster into the online mode, and potentially incorporating some items and features from it.
The developers could even add Red Dead Redemption's entire map to Red Dead Online, which would make it absolutely massive. This would also be a great way to integrate Red Dead Redemption's stellar Undead Nightmare DLC into Red Dead Online since the remaster would surely include all of the original game's DLC. Zombies have appeared in Red Dead Online before for limited-time events around Halloween. However, bringing the full DLC to the mode would flesh it out a lot more and add more activities for zombie-lovers to tackle in the game. Of course, the game would also look absolutely gorgeous when ported over to Red Dead Redemption 2's engine.
There is a lot that players would want from a Red Dead Redemption remaster, but Rockstar Games is not one to disappoint its fans, and the company is in a great position to deliver on a really special remaster that would satisfy fans of the series. Obviously, only time will tell whether or not a Red Dead Redemption remaster actually becomes a reality, but the odds do seem stacked in its favor. Hopefully, the game will end up being real, and that fans will get some news regarding it sometime soon, especially with the recent release of the new generation of consoles.
Red Dead Redemption is available now on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.