Red Dead Redemption Rides Again With Switch, PS4 Release On August 14

Folks were convinced Red Dead Redemption was returning after months of speculation. Rockstar Games confirmed it is, but it’s not what we all thought it was going to be. On August 14, Red Dead Redemption will hit PS4 (PS5 via backward compatibility) and Nintendo Switch. 

There was a collective ‘what?!’ from the gaming community when the news hit this morning. Remakes and remasters have been a popular way for publishers to breathe new life into old games, and they’ve proven to be quite the hits. Dead Space, Demon’s Souls, Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil 2, and Metroid Prime are recent examples resonating with fans. 

And as popular as Red Dead Redemption 2 is, many fans were itching to give the first game another go with all of today’s graphical bells and whistles. But Rockstar Games doesn’t even use the word remaster or remake in their announcement. Instead, they describe this month’s re-release as a “new conversion by Double Eleven Studios.”

Who is Double Eleven Studios? They were founded by a pair of former lead programmers at Rockstar Leeds in 2009. In recent years, they’ve helped work on games like Crackdown 3, Minecraft Dungeons, Rust Console Edition, Fallout 76, and more. 

There’s no mention of any technical improvements in today’s announcements, but they do highlight newly supported languages. This “conversion” sounds like a straight-up port. As for PC folks? No mention of y’all in the announcement. Red Dead Redemption remains a console-only title. 

We won’t have to wait long to see exactly what this “conversion” means. It sounds like a port, but $50 is crazy without technical upgrades. After the GTA Definitive Edition launch disaster, I would take a wait-and-see approach before pulling the trigger for folks with a Switch or PS4/PS5. 

Plus, there’s no multiplayer in the re-release, according to the PlayStation store listing.

Here’s a quick recap of what we know about the Red Dead Redemption re-release:

• Releases August 14 on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. PS5 can also play it via backward compatibility of the PS4 version.
• Retails for $50.
• Described as a “new conversion by Double Eleven Studios.”
• No multiplayer.