Summary
After years of fans wondering whether Rockstar Games would ever release a remaster ofRed Dead Redemption, it was finally revealed this week that the game was indeed getting a release on modern hardware, but not in the way that many might have imagined. Initial rumors of a potential remaster or remake began swirling in 2021 but were then quickly dismissed by Rockstar following the disappointing release of theGrand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. The rumors of aRed Dead Redemptionremake or remaster have now been usurped by a straight-up port of the original game to PlayStation 4 and Switch, calling to mind the debacle about the flawedGTADefinitive Edition.
Releasing at the tail end of 2021 on modern consoles and PC, theGrand Theft Auto Definitive Editioncompilation was met with near unanimous negative reception. Many fans who were hoping to have one of the best trilogies in gaming updated for modern hardware were instead met with a buggy and half-baked mess that was frankly worse looking and performing than the PS2 originals. The release of the trilogy ran counter to comments made by Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick regarding the remaster strategy, and that’s now being repeated with thedisappointingRed Dead Redemptionreveal.
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Rockstar Games' Parent Company Take-Two is Contradicting Itself
Shortly after Rockstar Games announced that a remastered version ofGrand Theft Auto 5was coming to next-gen consoles, CEO of Take-Two Interactive Strauss Zelnick spoke to media outlets regarding the company’s strategy for remakes and remasters. Interestingly, Zelnick went on record claiming that Take-Two was not interested in simple ports and wanted to update its games with enhanced visuals and features if it was going to expend the resources to bring them to modern hardware. While this has certainly been the case forre-releases and ports ofGrand Theft Auto 5(which is undeniably Rockstar and Take-Two’s golden goose), the same can’t be said for any of the other IPs.
TheGrand Theft Auto Definitive Editionrelease should have been a massive success for both Rockstar and parent company Take-Two, taking three of the most-beloved and influential open-world games ever made and packaging them together on modern hardware. Instead, the company de-listed the previously available versions of the three PS2 classics and then required fans to re-purchase inferior versions of the titles. Now, in a move that is the literal opposite of what Take-Two’s CEO claimed in 2021, the company is releasinga simple port ofRDR, even though fans have been clamoring for a remaster of for years.
Of course, it should be noted that the quality of the PS4 and SwitchRed Dead Redemptionports is an unknown quantity at this point. No one can say for sure whether these releases will fail to reach the bar of quality set by the original or repeat the sameblunders of theGrand Theft Auto Definitive Edition. Even if the ports themselves are of sterling quality, however, they still represent a massive disappointment for fans who have been following years of leaks and rumors hoping for an updated release ofRed Dead Redemptionon the most powerful modern consoles.
With Take-Two and Rockstar’s financial projections showing a massive windfall of earnings heading to the company in the next two fiscal years, it’s possible that the company willreleaseGrand Theft Auto 6sometime in 2024. As a result, it’s now clear that priority is being given to new games in its star franchise rather than devoting resources to remasters or remakes of older games. Unfortunately, it’s a move that is becoming all-too-commonly associated with Take-Two and Rockstar, giving fans the impression that the bottom line is more paramount than the hopes of fans.
Red Dead Redemptionis available now for PS3 and Xbox 360, and releases on August 17 for PS4 and Switch.
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