Red Dead Redemption's PS4 and Switch Ports Are the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Debacle All Over Again

The recently announced port of Red Dead Redemption on Switch and PS4 comes as a massive disappointment to fans hoping for a remake or remaster.

After years of fans wondering whether Rockstar Games would ever release a remaster of Red Dead Redemption, it was finally revealed this week that the game was indeed getting a release on modern hardware, but not in the way that many might have imagined. Initial rumors of a potential remaster or remake began swirling in 2021 but were then quickly dismissed by Rockstar following the disappointing release of the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy -- The Definitive Edition. The rumors of a Red Dead Redemption remake or remaster have now been usurped by a straight-up port of the original game to PlayStation 4 and Switch, calling to mind the debacle about the flawed GTA Definitive Edition.

Releasing at the tail end of 2021 on modern consoles and PC, the Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition compilation was met with near unanimous negative reception. Many fans who were hoping to have one of the best trilogies in gaming updated for modern hardware were instead met with a buggy and half-baked mess that was frankly worse looking and performing than the PS2 originals. The release of the trilogy ran counter to comments made by Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick regarding the remaster strategy, and that's now being repeated with the disappointing Red Dead Redemption reveal.

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Shortly after Rockstar Games announced that a remastered version of Grand Theft Auto 5 was coming to next-gen consoles, CEO of Take-Two Interactive Strauss Zelnick spoke to media outlets regarding the company's strategy for remakes and remasters. Interestingly, Zelnick went on record claiming that Take-Two was not interested in simple ports and wanted to update its games with enhanced visuals and features if it was going to expend the resources to bring them to modern hardware. While this has certainly been the case for re-releases and ports of Grand Theft Auto 5 (which is undeniably Rockstar and Take-Two's golden goose), the same can't be said for any of the other IPs.

The Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition release should have been a massive success for both Rockstar and parent company Take-Two, taking three of the most-beloved and influential open-world games ever made and packaging them together on modern hardware. Instead, the company de-listed the previously available versions of the three PS2 classics and then required fans to re-purchase inferior versions of the titles. Now, in a move that is the literal opposite of what Take-Two's CEO claimed in 2021, the company is releasing a simple port of RDR, even though fans have been clamoring for a remaster of for years.

Of course, it should be noted that the quality of the PS4 and Switch Red Dead Redemption ports is an unknown quantity at this point. No one can say for sure whether these releases will fail to reach the bar of quality set by the original or repeat the same blunders of the Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition. Even if the ports themselves are of sterling quality, however, they still represent a massive disappointment for fans who have been following years of leaks and rumors hoping for an updated release of Red Dead Redemption on the most powerful modern consoles.

With Take-Two and Rockstar's financial projections showing a massive windfall of earnings heading to the company in the next two fiscal years, it's possible that the company will release Grand Theft Auto 6 sometime in 2024. As a result, it's now clear that priority is being given to new games in its star franchise rather than devoting resources to remasters or remakes of older games. Unfortunately, it's a move that is becoming all-too-commonly associated with Take-Two and Rockstar, giving fans the impression that the bottom line is more paramount than the hopes of fans.

Red Dead Redemption is available now for PS3 and Xbox 360, and releases on August 17 for PS4 and Switch.

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Matt Karoglou is a freelance writer and musician who has been playing video games for 36 years and writing about them for almost as long. When he's not editorializing about the intricacies and brilliance of the Shmup genre or playing Resident Evil for the thousandth time, he can be found most days listening to metal and hardcore records while enjoying indie titles on his Steam Deck.