As Rockstar shifts more and more of its focus onGrand Theft Auto 6, there’s still work to be done forRed Dead Redemption 2, specifically PS5 and Xbox Series X upgrades. Indeed, it would seem that Rockstar is going full steam ahead on the next iteration of its Grand Theft Auto franchise and has left behind other projects as a result. For example, Rockstar previously announced thatRed Dead Onlinewas, more or less, going on “autopilot mode” asRockstar works to ensureGTA 6hits its monumental expectations.
However, it seems Grand Theft Auto 5 is getting the axe too, in a way.Rockstar recently publishedGrand Theft Auto 5’s credits alongside a “thank you” messageon its website, which is a pretty endearing way to say goodbye to something. Rockstar didn’t come out and say exactly this is what it meant, but it’s hard to imagine what else it could be. So, this means that Rockstar has effectively said goodbye toRed Dead OnlineandGrand Theft Auto 5. Now,GTA Onlineprobably isn’t going anywhere quite yet, but it does seem clear that Rockstar is dropping as much as it can to be as much intoGrand Theft Auto 6as it can.
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All of that is good news forGrand Theft Auto 6,but obviously bad news for everything else for the foreseeable future, at least.Red Dead Onlinedidn’t take off likeGTA Online, and it has seemed for some time that Rockstar wasn’t willing to move forward with this title as a whole. After all, despite fan pleas,Red Dead Redemption 2never received an Undead Nightmare 2 DLC, nor does it seem the original is getting any love. ARed Dead Redemptionremaster was reportedly planned alongsideGTA 4before the largely negative reception of the GTA Trilogy remasters apparently threw those off the table. So,Red Deadisn’t getting a remaster,Red Dead 2isn’t getting upgrades or DLC, and all of this is for a title years away, meaningRed Dead 3is even further away.
At the very least,Red Dead 2deserves its own PS5 and Xbox Series X upgrades. There’s no doubt that Rockstar’s western is absolutely gorgeous on PS4 and Xbox One, withRed Dead Redemption 2having details so small and refined that the game simply seems like a current-gen release, but it isn’t. Anyone playing it on PS5 or Xbox Series X is using a backward compatible version of the game, which is all fine and dandy, but imagining what it could do with stronger hardware is even more immaculate.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X are much stronger than their previous-gen counterparts, andRed Dead Redemption 2definitely pushes them to their limits. Upgrading the game to PS5 and Xbox Series X has the chance to break those limits and then some, and if Rockstar is going to say goodbye to its previous games,Red Dead 2deserves this before it’s all said and done.GTA 5re-released on PS5 and Xbox Series X, after all, but these two games are different in so many ways.
Red Dead 2is a realistic, living open-world experiencewhere the world changes and interacts with or without the player present, whereasGTA 5is a beautiful satire with amazing characters and a fun story but rather standard-fare open-world elements. Both are gorgeous, but there was only so much Rockstar could do to improveGTA 5anyway.Red Dead 2, on the other hand, has limitless potential.
Red Dead Redemption 2is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
