Report: Red Dead Redemption 2 remaster on PS5, Xbox Series X cancelled

Rockstar Games may have cancelled its plans to release a next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version of Red Dead Redemption 2.

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Rockstar just announced that it will be paring back Red Dead Online content so it can exclusively focus on GTA Online and development of GTA 6. Rockstar confirmed that Red Dead Online content expansions have been halted, and sources say this wasn't the only project that was put on hold in favor of GTA 6.

Sources have told Rockstar insider Tez2 (and Kotaku) that remasters of Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto IV have also been put on hold, and possibly even cancelled. There's two main reasons for this: 1) Rockstar is all hands-on deck for GTA 6 right now, and 2) Rockstar wants to avoid another disastrous GTA Trilogy Remaster Definitive Edition controversy. To avoid that controversy it would need to double-down on making sure these remasters were quality products, and that would require pulling people off of the GTA 6 teams.

Now Tez2 is also saying that any plans for a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version of Red Dead Redemption 2 has been cancelled (or at least put on hold).

When asked if it's safe to say that RDR2 will never get a next-gen release, Tez said:

"Yes. I've heard about those a long time ago. As well as their plan to come up with an Enhanced Rockstar Editor. All cancelled/halted by now."

Given the native backwards compatibility feature set of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, a re-release may not be decidedly difficult to pull off. In 2017, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said that Red Dead Redemption 2 was "built from the ground up" for consoles, particularly the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X consoles.

"...We are building Red Dead Redemption 2 as a new game from the ground up for the first time for the new generation of consoles."

Timing-wise, a staggered re-release following GTA 6 may benefit Rockstar the most. RDR2 has already amassed an incredible 44 million sales on all platforms, growing at a rate of 1-3 million game sales per month despite the game being nearly 4 years old. A re-release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2025 or thereabouts could help refresh sales during a post-GTA 6 launch period.

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