Rumors of a Red Dead Redemption remaster have started circling in recent months after Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive announced it has a multitude of remasters and ports currently in development. Following the success of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Rockstar's apparent disinterest in releasing single-player DLC, many fans are hopeful a remaster of Red Dead Redemption will be coming sometime soon.
Red Dead Redemption quickly found a fanbase that enjoyed the game's immersive world, engaging story, and deep characters. Its legacy was further solidified by the game's Undead Nightmare DLC and online multiplayer mode. Despite the success of Red Dead Redemption 2 there are large parts of the first Red Dead Redemption that are unique, especially in its DLC. However, a recent report claims that Red Dead Redemption Remaster will only happen based on the success of a leaked Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Remastered. If the remaster does release, it may very well not include the game's multiplayer mode.
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Red Dead Redemption's original multiplayer largely set the formula for Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online. The mode drops players into an online version of the game's full map in free roam. While on the map, players can undertake missions, team up with other players, go hunting, gamble, or get in gunfights. While the online mode did not find a lasting fanbase like Red Dead Online, the original Red Dead Redemption did include some activities that are absent in Red Dead Redemption 2, including in the online mode.
While playing multiplayer in Red Dead Redemption, players rank up their characters to unlock new customization items, mounts, and weapons. This is very different from modern Rockstar online modes by being more focused on players participating in organized matches and game modes to level up rather than earning money and spending it on the new equipment. The game also received multiple DLC packs, some of which were free and some of which were only available to players who purchased them. The packs focused on giving players new equipment, mounts, and new activities for players to complete. The mode managed to capture the spirit of the base game, while also maintaining Red Dead Redemption's impressive graphics.
If Red Dead Redemption Remaster does end up releasing, it could include the original game's multiplayer mode, but there are some good indicators that it won't. One of these is that other remasters of games from the same time period in recent years have skipped including their associated multiplayer modes completely. This includes games that heavily relied on their multiplayer modes, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which just remastered the game's campaign.
A similar approach was also taken by the Uncharted series, which did not include the multiplayer modes for its Nathan Drake Collection that remastered the first three games in the series. With the Red Dead Redemption remaster making a lot of sense, it does seem likely to happen, but it could very well opt to focus its efforts on remastering the single-player content and leave multiplayer abandoned.
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Another reason Rockstar Games might opt for this approach is because of the ongoing success of Red Dead Online. The studio's games like Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online have been so popular that the studio supports them with frequent updates in lieu of single-player DLCs that add onto the base games. Red Dead Online updates have slowed down recently, but the studio has made it very clear that it still aims to continue adding to the game for its players. With how popular the online mode is, releasing a remastered game with a competing online mode simply wouldn't make sense for Rockstar Games, as it would very likely split the userbase and the two modes would cannibalize one another.
Even if Red Dead Redemption Remaster doesn't include its own multiplayer mode, its release could still bring some new content for fans of the series. The easiest way for it to do this would be to bring some of the game's content to Red Dead Online, even if it is only for players who purchase the new game. These additions could be huge, with new characters, equipment, and customization items all taken from Red Dead Redemption Remaster. It could also present a perfect opportunity for Red Dead Online to introduce a Mexico DLC that many of its players have been calling for.
The new content could also incorporate Red Dead Redemption's classic Undead Nightmare DLC by adding some more missions and content to the game revolving around players fending off armies of the undead. Red Dead Online did feature a limited-time mode that included zombies, but Undead Nightmare could bring significantly more permanent content to the online game. It could even act as a special long-term event that shapes the game's entire world for a period of time, similar to the large-scale events found in live-service games like Destiny 2 or Apex Legends. Doing so would help breathe some new life into Red Dead Online while also giving players something exciting to talk about and interact with.
If Red Dead Redemption Remaster does end up releasing there is no way of knowing whether or not the game's multiplayer will be included. However, its inclusion in Red Dead Online would present a massive opportunity for Rockstar Games to mix up the game and possibly attract some new players along the way. Hopefully, players will get some news about the remaster soon if it does exist.
Red Dead Redemption Remaster is rumored to be in development.
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