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Better late than never: Dust off your six-shooters for some old-school Western action as Red Dead Redemption rolls out on PC later this month. Players who have only played the 2019 prequel-sequel Red Dead Redemption 2 should enjoy continuing the cowboy adventure, this time filling John Marston's boots.
On Tuesday, Rockstar announced a PC conversion of Red Dead Redemption slated for launch later this month. It has been 14 years since it released the title exclusively on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. The Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 got remasters last year. Now it's ready for the Master Race.
Now, before y'all go raisin' a fuss about it taking longer than a coon's age, just you remember that portin' a game from two generations ago to the latest goldarn hardware is a hard row to hoe (sorry, I went retro 1899 there for a second). Rockstar collaborated with studio Double Eleven to ensure the port has all the goodies, including native 4K at up to 144Hz, with HDR10, Nvidia DLSS 3.7, and AMD FSR 3.0. The game also supports Ultrawide (21:9) and Super Ultrawide (32:9) monitors.
Of course, no PC remake would be complete without all the usual PC tweaks and settings, like Nvidia Frame Generation, adjustable draw distances, shadow quality settings, and the like. While the game retains controller support for those who like the feel of a gamepad, it also has full keyboard-and-mouse support for that snappy responsiveness. Ray tracing was suspiciously absent from the announcement, but give it a few weeks, and we will undoubtedly be able to say, "There's a mod for that."
According to its Steam listing, players need an Intel Core i5-4670 or AMD FX-9590 processor, a GeForce GTX 960 or Radeon R7 360, 8GB RAM, and a modest 12GB of available storage to meet the minimum requirements. Recommended specs are a bit higher, requiring an Intel Core i5-8500 or AMD Ryzen 5 3500X and an Nvidia RTX 2070 or AMD RX 5700 XT or better. Although an HDD will suffice, Rockstar recommends a fast SSD for the best performance.
Preorders should open next week on Steam, Epic Games Store, and through the Rockstar Store. However, the announcement didn't mention a price. Considering the PS4 version costs $50, the PC port will likely ask as much. It launches on October 29, just in time for players to enjoy the spooky bundled standalone DLC, Undead Nightmare, during the Halloween holiday.
The combined value of the two games and the modern visuals should make it a worthwhile buy, especially for those who have never played it. Players who have completed Red Dead 2 should enjoy the few "spoilers," as they fit nicely into the original game's narrative.