In a surprise, yet disappointing announcement, Rockstar Games is releasing the original Red Dead Redemption for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch on Aug. 17.
Why is that disappointing? Because it's just a port of the 2010 game without any type of remastering work done. However, it's great to see such a well-received game being made available to more gamers.
Until now, experiencing Red Dead Redemption meant owning a PS3 or Xbox 360, relying on Backwards Compatibility to play it on an Xbox Series X or Series S, or using PlayStation Now.
With this new release, the PS4 version will work on PS5, so everyone will be able to play the game now regardless of which console hardware they currently own. PC gamers are unfortunately still unable to access the game, but can play Red Dead Redemption 2 complete with its DLSS 2.2 update.
Rockstar Games is including the Undead Nightmare story expansion with the base game, with the conversion having been carried out by Double Eleven Studios (Fallout 76, Minecraft Dungeons, Crackdown 3). The game will cost $49.99 in digital form when it releases next week. However, if you want a physical copy on either Switch or PS4, Rockstar is making us wait until Oct. 13.
While the lack of a remaster is disappointing, perhaps we should be counting our blessings after the mess that was the GTA III remaster.