Red Dead Redemption's last-gen "conversion" has gone down about as well as you'd expect with hopeful fans

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That $50 price tag isn't sitting right with fans, among other things

Red Dead Redemption 2
(Image credit: Rockstar)

Many Red Dead Redemption fans feel let down by Rockstar following the announcement that the open-world epic will be getting a re-release, but only on Nintendo Switch and PS4. 

After months of speculation, on August 7 Rockstar announced that a "conversion" (note: not a remake or remaster) of Red Dead Redemption was on the way, but that instead of being released for Xbox Series X/S and PS5, it's been made for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. This has gone down like a lead balloon, especially since fans have had their hopes up for quite some time now for a new-gen remake. 

To get into the specifics, the new Red Dead Redemption release isn't actually being worked on by Rockstar. Instead, it's in development at Double Eleven Studios, which previously worked on Fallout 76, Minecraft Dungeons, and the console edition of Rust. It's due to release on October 13 and will be bundled in with the Halloween-themed story expansion, Undead Nightmare. 

The scariest thing about this bundle is that it'll cost $50 - the same price as many brand-new Nintendo Switch or PS4 games. For comparison, you can get Red Dead Redemption on PS3 for about $15 at most, and Red Dead Redemption 2 is usually around $20 on PS4. Hell, Remnant 2, a brand-new new-gen game, comes to mind for the $50 bracket.

I posted this before the announcement, but oh well. from r/reddeadredemption

As I'm sure you can imagine, this is pretty much the exact opposite of what fans were actually hoping for, and you don't have to search far to see this demonstrated online. "$49.99? Ouch. It came out 13 years ago," one Twitter user said shortly after the announcement was made. "No PC version and 50 dollars pricing," another added. 

Others have argued that Take-Two has gone back on its word since it said the company wasn't interested in "simple ports" of its games. Some Red Dead Redemption fans have basically written off the game already, rightly pointing out that the last time Rockstar outsourced one of its games for a quick re-release, we ended up with a GTA Trilogy which released in such a poor state that it eventually forced Rockstar to apologize. 

If this wasn't proof enough that fans aren't happy with Rockstar's latest announcement, just take a look at the like to dislike ratio on the upcoming game's trailer on YouTube. At the time of writing, 18,000 people like it and another 19,000 dislike it. The top comments on the trailer are even more brutal, and all basically playing the same tune: "Our expectations were low but holy crap."

Need something to take your mind off this? Take a look at our games like Red Dead Redemption 2 to find a new distraction.  

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.