Why Rockstar Won't Remake the Original Red Dead Redemption

The Red Dead Redemption franchise is recognized by many players as the best westerns among video games. Despite its popularity, excellent reviews from critics and record sales, Rockstar Games has never released the original RDR on PC. Launched in 2010 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the game is still available only on these systems.

Following the release of RDR 2, rumors surfaced that the company might be developing the remaster of the first installment of the series. Insiders said that the game was in the planning stages, but everything remained at the conception phase. The story was continued when the Red Dead Redemption remaster received an age rating in South Korea.

However, players hopes are unlikely to be realized in the coming years. In this article, we will name the main reasons why Rockstar Games has no plans to release Red Dead Redemption Remastered.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Before we talk about the Red Dead Redemption remaster, it's worth paying attention to Rockstar Games' attitude towards its last game. RDR 2 came out in 2018 and set a new standard for open-world projects, but no major story DLC was released for the title.

Red Dead Online was basically abandoned. The multiplayer had huge potential, but it has not received any major update in the last couple years (GTA Online is still receiving updates). RDO sessions on PC suffer from modders who literally break the game.

Developing the Red Dead franchise is probably not in Rockstar's plans. Working on such a big remaster doesn't fit in any way with the company's current policy.

Technical Issues

Making Red Dead Redemption Remastered is not the same as enhancing GTA 5 or GTA: The Trilogy. It's a big game that has aged badly technically.

Unlike most Rockstar Games projects, Red Dead Redemption was not released on PC. Modder Ash 735 revealed the reasons why the game has stayed on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. The western has a hybrid engine and a messy code, in which changes were made daily and not documented during the development process.

To make the remaster Rockstar will need to port RDR to the RAGE ERB 3 engine that GTA 5 and Max Payne 3 are created on, and then port it to PC. To do this, the developers will have to fix all the problematic elements of the code, which will take a lot of time and resources of the company.

GTA 6

GTA 6 is currently in active development. Players have been waiting for the continuation of the series for almost 10 years, but still have not seen even the official trailer. Under these circumstances, developing a big remaster would be an unreasonable move for the company.

Even a couple hundred people who will need to be involved in the creation of the remaster will have a negative impact on the creation of Grand Theft Auto 6. Delaying the game's release could anger fans, who are far more numerous than Red Dead Redemption players.

In addition, the remaster cannot be outsourced to a third-party studio. The company and its publisher do not want to suffer reputational costs after the failed GTA: The Trilogy.

Conclusion

Red Dead Redemption Remastered is not worth waiting for until the company releases GTA 6. And even after the game's release, the studio may turn its attention to simpler projects. The original title has a number of technical problems, and Rockstar executives don't believe in its commercial success.