Rockstar Games may be bringing the 1st Red Dead Redemption to PC.
As reported by RockstarIntel, a dataminer named Tez2 found this text in an update to the Rockstar Games Launcher:
“RDR_ProductPromotion_Intro_Body”: “Journey across the sprawling expanses of the American West and Mexico in Red Dead Redemption, and its zombie-horror companion, Undead Nightmare — now playable on PC.”, “RDR_ProductPromotion_Intro_LongTitle”: “Experience the epic Western adventures that defined a generation.”
So there is no dispute on what this text says. It clearly mentions Red Dead Redemption and the Undead Nightmare DLC. And if it isn’t obvious, there’s an obvious catch to this, too.
Is playing Red Dead Redemption worth having to load up the Rockstar Games Launcher? Since Red Dead Redemption 2 came to Steam, it’s natural that fans want to have Red Dead Redemption on the platform too. Ideally, as a single person game with no online component, it would have been best to see this game get a DRM-free release, on a platform like GOG, or perhaps also Humble Bundle, and Prime Gaming.
But it’s also true that Rockstar fans who play on PC deal with the Rockstar Games Launcher anyway. Maybe Rockstar will just feel this one out, and make that Steam or DRM-free release a few months after the Rockstar Games Launcher release, just to make the most money on their own platform.
In any case, the original Red Dead Redemption released in 2010 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. There is no question why there is such a high demand for Rockstar Games to bring this back. It isn’t just that it’s a financially successful and hugely popular game.
Red Dead Redemption is a pivotal title in the history of the video game industry. Many of the things Rockstar did with this title influenced future open world games, including titles made by FromSoftware, Nintendo, and of course, Rockstar themselves.
And that’s true for both Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto. Now, the big problem is Rockstar Games, a 25 year old company, doesn’t really demonstrate an interest in the preservation of their own video games.
We demonstrably saw this with their release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition from 2021. To this day, there are so many issues in the ports of those games that Rockstar has failed to address. Of course, on top of that, there are tons of other Rockstar titles, such as their odd licensed title The Warriors, Bully, and Midnight Club II, that hasn’t seen any proper remaster or remake in any form.
We would welcome it if Rockstar demonstrates that they have changed on that account, but we have to see that happen first. Surely this is one of those rumors which you want to be true.
