Red Dead Redemption is Getting Another Re-Release, But What About Red Dead Redemption 2?

Sometimes, it feels like publishers have a mortal reason for re-releasing their games, like a Dorian Gray situation. Almost like it slows their ageing so they can stay in the business and – what else? – keep re-releasing their games. So after Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition and its myriad of problems, Rockstar Games has announced the most natural re-release of…Red Dead Redemption 1. No, you didn’t mishear. The first Red Dead Redemption.

It’s coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2 on December 2nd. Granted, an ESRB rating earlier in the day offered some advance notice, but the surprising bit is that it’s also coming to iOS and Android. Not to keep, of course. More on that in a bit, because it kind of explains this whole deal.

So right off the bat, the first question that anyone would have to ask is: Why? Why Red Dead Redemption 1, which already had a re-release on PS4 and Nintendo Switch in 2023, and then a PC port in 2024? Yes, it’s a free upgrade and not just for PS5 and Switch 2 players who own the original. If you also own the backwards-compatible Xbox One version, it’s free on Xbox Series X/S as well. Also, both PS4 and PS5 versions will be coming to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers on the same day.

There’s just one problem, though: Where the heck is Red Dead Redemption 2 in all of this?

You know, the fourth-best-selling game of all time, which managed to beat Mario Kart 8’s sales total with a whopping 79 million sold in just seven years? Rumors have been circulating for a while now about a potential release on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and Switch 2 this Fall. As is always the case with rumors, you should take them with a grain of salt – even Rob Wiethoff and Roger Clark, the voice actors for John Marston and Arthur Morgan, were teasing some kind of big announcement.

However, fans have been craving a current-gen update for some time now. Red Dead Redemption 2 released pretty close to the end of the life cycles for PS4 and Xbox One. Wouldn’t it be great if you could experience it in 4K/60 FPS on today’s platforms? You could argue that PC players already get these features and much more, but on top of catering to those who don’t have one, this is an opportunity to bring one of the greatest games ever made to new audiences. An opportunity to showcase one of the, if not the, best open worlds ever created, matched by an outstanding narrative of loyalty, camaraderie, betrayal and – say that again – redemption.

After Grand Theft Auto 5, originally released in 2013 for Xbox 360 and PS3, would receive not one but two re-releases. The first was on the Xbox One and PS4 in 2014, which arrived even before the PC version, if you can believe it, and the Expanded and Enhanced version for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2022. Of course, the reason, along with why they received new features and “content,” is obvious beyond just selling more copies. It also introduces more people to Grand Theft Auto Online – the real cash cow.

I’m not saying that current-gen players shouldn’t experience Red Dead Redemption. Having resolutions that go up to 4K, 60 FPS performance, improved image quality and HDR support? That’s a pretty significant jump from the PS4 version, which eventually received a patch to run at 60 FPS on PS5. Switch 2 players can also look forward to 60 FPS performance, HDR, DLSS and mouse controls, though only at “high resolution”, not 4K (and you just know there was a debate about whether Rockstar could charge $80 for that). Regardless, it would be a vast improvement over the Switch 1 version.

But that’s more or less it (unless Rockstar is hiding something special). No new content or other notable features. Which isn’t a problem for current owners, but what about those buying it for the first time? They’ll likely have to pay $50 at a minimum. As good as Red Dead Redemption 1 is – and it is very good – it’s still over 15 years old. Just because Rockstar isn’t charging triple-A game rates doesn’t make that price any less annoying (and it was already preposterous two years ago on the Switch and PS4). Unless, of course, you’re subscribed to PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium – which is a Sony move, no doubt – or to Grand Theft Auto+, which wraps back around to GTA Online taking prominence.

You know what’s even more preposterous, two years later? This isn’t even the complete Red Dead Redemption experience. Rockstar says that it’s based on the Game of the Year Edition, but previous re-releases didn’t have any multiplayer. The base game and Undead Nightmare expansion are pretty great, but new players can’t experience Outlaws to the End and its co-op missions, or Legends and Killers, which adds Red Dead Revolver characters and new maps. Rolling around with your friends in a posse to clear out the hideouts of gangsters? Roaming the landscape together and maybe engaging in some low-stakes PvP? A time that newer generations will never get to experience.

Of course, offering multiplayer means having to allocate servers and resources for tools like reporting troublesome players or revamping matchmaking, and Rockstar can’t have that (especially without a metric ton of microtransactions a la GTA Online). At this point, the powers-that-be clearly just want to re-release the same product with as few changes as possible, as many times as possible, if it can provide a shred of additional revenue. It wouldn’t be the first time – look at Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which sold millions.

The other half of this equation is Red Dead Redemption becoming available on “compatible” iOS and Android devices…through Netflix with “mobile-friendly controls.” And right away, it feels like the entire reason for even re-releasing the game on current-gen consoles is primarily for this deal. The GTA Trilogy was pretty successful through this model, so it makes sense that Rockstar and Netflix would want a repeat of that. If you don’t have a subscription? Why, just sign up today. Or sign up for GTA+. Ownership? Why would you possibly want to own these games on mobile? That’s just crazy talk.

Is it absurd to think that Red Dead Redemption 2’s chances of a current-gen re-release hinge on whether Rockstar can justify the amount of money needed to create mobile versions, and whether Netflix would pay that much? Probably, but those mobile versions of RDR1 stick out like a sore thumb amid all this. Even if they’re rife with problems, it’s just another way for Netflix to add “value” to the overall subscription. Similarly with GTA+ or those who avail of the free upgrades. Who cares if they’re extremely barebones? They’re free!

Rockstar can go ahead and re-release RDR1 as many times as it wants – heck, it’s their IP, even if the shamelessness of those prices is apparent. But for years and years, long-time fans of Red Dead Redemption 2 and even Red Dead Online have wanted something, anything from the studio, only to be met with silence. Maybe that’s the plan – to make them so desperate for the bare minimum that it could just release a current-gen version for, say, $60, with no additional content and a few new features, and get away with it.

And honestly, at that point? Even crickets would be better.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.