Rockstar Games announced this morning that the original Red Dead Redemption would be undergoing a “conversion,” confirming a rumor swirling around that fans were hopefully watching out for. But before we get too excited, it’s important to clarify that this is not the remake many were hoping for. This is, quite literally, a simple port.
No, we will not be getting the OG with Red Dead 2 graphics, nor will there be any new content in this port. And no, we won’t be getting the game on PC, as fans have been wanting for years. This “conversion” will basically be a two-in-one Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare port for the Nintendo Switch and the PS4 (which, due to backwards compatibility, technically includes the PS5). What’s more, it won’t have the multiplayer feature that many players loved from the first game.
It’s definitely easy to be glib about this, as well as angry, because it does seem like a lazy move on Rockstar’s part. However, I have to admit that I can see why they did this instead of a full remaster. Not only are they working on Grand Theft Auto 6, but they also faced major backlash as a result of the inhumane crunches workers faced during the production of Red Dead 2. To rebuild such a beloved game from the ground up would be a massive undertaking, spanning many more years and much more money, and there’s no guarantee all that work would even pay off in the eyes of fans.
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Now, bearing that in mind, I still don’t see why they couldn’t port the game to PC when pretty much every other Rockstar game runs fine on that platform. Moreover, asking $50 for a game most of us already played, yet not on a console that already had backwards compatibility, is just plain greedy. And I mean, the Switch is kind of a silly console to play the game on:
I’m glad I still have my PS3 lying around somewhere, because I really don’t know if this port is justifiable for what it is. All the same, I’m glad the workers aren’t being put through yet another crunch (that we know of …) and that a new generation of players will get to experience this beautiful game for the first time, even if it’s kind of a highway robbery situation—which, I suppose, is apt.
In the meantime, if you’re bummed about this, there’s always Baldur’s Gate 3. Just saying!
(featured image: Rockstar Games)
