Seven years later, console players are still getting the budget version of Arthur Morgan’s adventure in Red Dead Redemption 2.
While PC gamers have been living their best cowboy life with uncapped framerates and stunning visuals, PlayStation and Xbox owners have been stuck with what feels like a completely different game.
The “but it still looks better than most modern games!” crowd isn’t wrong, but they’re missing the bigger picture. Sure, RDR2 can still make your jaw drop during those perfect sunset moments, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be better.
Console players deserve the real Red Dead Redemption 2 experience
The argument against a remaster usually goes something like this: “Why fix what isn’t broken?” But here’s the thing about that logic: console versions of Red Dead Redemption 2 have been broken since day one, just in ways that don’t crash your system or corrupt your save files.
Console players have been dealing with 30 FPS for seven years while watching PC footage that looks like it belongs in a different decade.
The performance gap isn’t subtle. It’s embarrassing. Console hardware from 2020 should absolutely be capable of running a 2018 game at 60 FPS, yet here they are in 2025 still locked to slideshow framerates.
The visual differences go beyond just framerate issues, too. Console versions lack the enhanced lighting, improved textures, and extended draw distances that make the PC version genuinely breathtaking.
It’s almost like console players are experiencing a watered-down tech demo while PC gamers get the actual masterpiece. The #PCMasterRace jokes write themselves at this point.
PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X hardware could easily handle native 4K at 60 FPS with proper optimization. Instead, console players get checkerboarded upscaling that looks decent but falls short of what the hardware can actually deliver. No haptic feedback support, no Quality/Performance modes, no real utilization of current-gen features.
The irony is that Rockstar created one of the most technically impressive games ever made, then left console players with the inferior version for nearly a decade. A proper remaster wouldn’t just benefit consoles either.
PC players could get even better visuals, ray tracing support, and modern rendering techniques that weren’t available in 2018.
Nate the Hate confirms what everyone suspected
Yesterday brought some hope for console cowboys everywhere. Reliable insider Nate the Hate dropped confirmation during his podcast that the long-rumored next-gen update is actually happening. After years of speculation and wishful thinking, it seems Rockstar is finally ready to acknowledge that console players exist.
The timing makes perfect sense from a business perspective. With GTA 6 delayed until 2026, Rockstar needs something to keep fans engaged and revenue flowing. A next-gen upgrade for their second-biggest franchise seems like an obvious move, even if it took them seven years to figure that out.
Those rumors are true. Red Dead Redemption 2 is getting a next-gen update and the game will be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 later this year.
— Nate the Hate
The Nintendo Switch 2 angle is particularly interesting. If Rockstar can make the game run properly on handheld hardware, it makes their neglect of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X is even more inexcusable.
The Switch 2 port will likely feature compromises, but at least Nintendo loyalist will get a version designed for their hardware instead of backwards compatibility scraps.
I mean I was going to hold that for a Nintendo Direct predictions episode as I feel that’s a game Nintendo would want to have as kind of a headliner in the Direct… and then in the press release they can mention the PS5, Xbox Series next-gen patch alongside it. But yes, those rumors are true.
Whether this will be a free update or another paid “Enhanced Edition,” though, remains to be seen. But, given Rockstar‘s recent monetization strategies, don’t hold your breath for generosity.
What’s your take on the RDR2 remaster situation? Should console players have to wait seven years for proper performance? Share your thoughts below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
