While Rockstar Games never officially announced the Red Dead Redemption 2 PS5 and Xbox Series X/S port, we have heard rumours of its existence for months now. Way back in 2021 we already reported on rumblings that Rockstar was working on an enhanced version of Red Dead Redemption 2 that would run smoother, feature higher resolutions and enhanced visuals. Sadly, it seems that Rockstar has reportedly cancelled the enhanced RDR2 port. The cancellation took place alongside the other two reported remasters of Red Dead Redemption and GTA IV.
Last week, we reported on the news that Rockstar Games had shelved its remasters of GTA IV and the original Red Dead Redemption. This is after the developer suffered some major backlash from its previously-released GTA Trilogy remaster. The game was released in late 2021 and was defined as the “worst game of the year” due to bugs, shoddy visuals and few improvements. Reports claim that the GTA Trilogy didn’t sell well and failed to meet Take-Two’s expectations.
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Due to the failure of the GTA Trilogy, Rockstar reportedly shelved its other remasters and while at first there was no confirmation regarding Red Dead Redemption 2, insiders now confirmed the game has been shelved.
Insider and Red Dead Redemption enthusiast Tez2 said on Twitter that everything Rockstar was currently working on that wasn’t GTA V and GTA VI has been put on hold. This includes the remasters of GTA IV and both the original RDR and its sequel.
According to reports, Rockstar has put all these projects on hold due to two reasons. The first is the poor sales of the previous GTA Trilogy release and the second is its focus on Grand Theft Auto 6.
This lines up with our previous reports that Rockstar would shut down development on Red Dead Online to focus on GTA VI. The company then confirmed the news later last week saying:
“Over the past few years, we have been steadily moving more development resources towards the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series — understanding more than ever the need to exceed players’ expectations and for this next entry to be the best it can possibly be”
So there you have it. Don’t expect any remasters from Rockstar anytime soon. The studio will most likely revisit the situation should GTA VI development take longer than expected. They might release a remaster in order to tide fans over until the game’s release. Who knows.
Per Tez2, it doesn’t look like Rockstar Games wants to ship out a new enhanced version of #RedDeadRedemption2 for next-gen consoles anytime soon.
It’s an absolute crime to abandon this game over GTAV. pic.twitter.com/lZWsJTX8sq
— Ben (@videotech_) July 7, 2022