WhenRed Dead Redemptionhit the shelves back in 2010 it was an instant hit for Rockstar.Red Dead Redemption 2’s sales may have eclipsed the first game within two weeks of its release, but the second game’s success only increased the calls for a remake of the original.
As time passes, a remake ofRed Dead Redemptiononly makes more and more sense. Based on news from earlier this year, evidence from behind-the-scenes at Rockstar and Take-Two, and more, there’s plenty of reasons aRed Dead Redemptionremake or remaster could and should be on the way, retelling the story of John Marston using the graphics and some of the features found inRed Dead 2.
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Continuing John Marston’s Story
Red Dead Redemption 2is considered one of the defining games of the last generation of consoles, just as the first game was considered revolutionary when it released on thePS3 and Xbox 360. By 2017, just a year beforeRed Dead 2launched,Red Dead Redemptionhad sold 15 million copies.Red Dead 2overtookRed Dead Redemption’s total sales in just twelve days, and has now sold nearly 40 million copies.
That means a lot of players got their first introduction to the series with the second game without going back to the first. That fact andRed Dead 2’s role as a prequel perfectly sets up aRed Dead Redemptionremake or remaster. Fans already finishRed Dead Redemption 2in the role of John Marston as he builds his house in New Austin and prepares for what he hopes to be a peaceful life with his wifeAbigail Marstonand son Jack.
It’s likely that there are plenty ofRed Dead Redemption 2players who want to continue the original story, but don’t want to go back to the poorer graphics, less reliable controls, and smaller in-game world of the first game. The success ofRed Dead Online’s roleplaying communityshows thatRed Dead 2players are telling their own stories in the absence ofRed Dead 2DLC or the announcement of a third game. Releasing aRed Dead Redemptionremake would play into that desire for more story content, potentially usingRed Dead 2’s engine.
Earlier this yearJohn Marston’s voice actor Rob Wiethoffsaid that he’d be interested in reprising his iconic role if a third game was in the works. Unless that game goes even further back in time, however, there isn’t much room in theRed Dead Redemptiontimeline for more stories with John before his death inRed Dead 1.
However, a remake ofRed Dead Redemption 1could see Rob Wiethoff return as John Marston to voice more lines that would bring the amount of dialogue in the first game up to the standard ofRed Dead 2. InRed Dead Redemption 2, John and Arthurhave a huge number of Greet and Antagonize voice lines that massively outnumber the more generic ones found in the first game, for example. ARed Deadremake could allow fans and the actor alike to get more out of John by diversifying the interactions he can have throughout the world without changing the story.
The world ofRed Dead Redemption, at least on the American side of the border, is already mostly rendered in full inRed Dead Redemption 2. Not only that, but it has been shown thatRed Dead 2’s map has its own version ofRed Dead Redemption’s Mexico, even though it isn’t accessible inRed Dead 2orRed Dead Onlinewithout exploiting or falling victim to certain bugs.
It’s possible that Nuevo Paraiso, the fictional area of Mexico seen inRed Dead 1, was originally planned for a DLC for either the main game orRed Dead Online. Whatever the original reason behind the area being rendered, the existence ofNuevo Paraiso inRed Dead 2’s world already means that most of the world ofRed Dead 1is almost entirely rendered inRed Dead 2’s engine. If there were plans for a Mexico DLC for eitherRed Dead 2orRed Dead Onlinethey appear to have been abandoned, but that means now is as good a time as any for aRed Deadremake to take advantage of those assets to make sure that work didn’t go to waste.
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Rockstar And Take-Two
Back in MayRed Dead Redemption’s publisher Take-Two Interactiveannounced that nine re-releases were planned, described as “new iterations of previously released titles.” Six are set to be released in the 2022 fiscal year, and the remaining three before the end of the 2024 fiscal year. One of those nine spots could easily be taken up by a remake or remaster of the originalRed Dead Redemption, and there are reasons that a remaster might be just what Rockstar needs.
Rockstar is currently in an interesting position.Red Dead Redemption 2was the studio’s last major release back in 2018, and since then the developer has mostly been working on content forGrand Theft Auto OnlineandRed Dead Onlineas far as fans know.Red Dead 2’s development led to a lot ofcrunch time at Rockstar, and even saw Rockstar cofounder Dan Houser depart from the studio after its development.
Fans are unsure if eitherGrand Theft Auto 6orRed Dead Redemption 3are in development. With Rockstar at a crossroads, a remaster or remake ofRed Dead Redemptioncould be a great safe bet that would likely satisfy fans without requiring the same intense development process as building a whole new game from scratch.
There seem to be few groups that aRed Dead Redemptionremake would leave unsatisfied. Fans ofRed Dead 1would see the game brought back to life with more modern graphics, fans ofRed Dead 2who didn’t play the first game would get to continueJohn Marston’s story, and Rockstar would be able to develop a game without the same pressure as the development of a fullRed DeadorGrand Theft Autotitle. Whether or not the remake will actually happen is another question, but as bothRed Deadand its prequel get older aRed Deadremake only makes more sense.
Red Dead Redemptionis available now on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
