Red Dead Redemption 2 Leak Confirms Previous PS5 and Xbox Series X Port

A new leak tied to Red Dead Redemption 2 has essentially confirmed that a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version of the game was at one point in the works. The biggest story in the world of video games has today centered around Microsoft, which accidentally made public a number of vital documents and emails associated with upcoming Xbox games and hardware. While most of this leak was with Xbox's first-party offerings, some third-party titles also happened to be mentioned. Red Dead Redemption 2 was one such game that was found and it seems that its arrival on PS5 and Xbox Series X was supposed to have previously happened. 

Based on leaked emails between Xbox executives Phil Spencer, Matt Booty, and Sarah Bond, a Red Dead Redemption 2 port for current-gen hardware was planned to launch in Q2 of Take-Two Interactive's 2023 fiscal year. This information was disclosed as a result of Spencer and others discussing which third-party titles Microsoft should attempt to bring to Xbox Game Pass. Obviously, Red Dead Redemption 2 didn't end up coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X as this leak suggests it should have, though, which only raises additional questions about what has been going on behind the scenes at Rockstar Games. 

In the time since Red Dead Redemption 2 first launched in 2018, fans have made it clear that they'd be more than willing to buy the game on upgraded hardware. After all, RDR2 was already quite a showpiece title on PS4 and Xbox One, which means that its visuals and performance would be made all the better on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Despite being such an obvious idea on paper, Rockstar seems to have scrapped these previous plans for one reason or another. 

Will Red Dead Redemption 2 Ever Come to PS5 and Xbox Series X?

Currently, it's hard to know if a current-gen port of Red Dead Redemption 2 will ever come about. As mentioned, Rockstar would surely be able to make a lot of money off of such a port, which suggests that it would be a wise move for the company. Still, Rockstar has been shown to be somewhat averse to various ports and remasters in recent years. This has been even more true in the wake of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which was seen as an incredibly poor remastered collection when it released back in 2021.

That being said, recent moves from Rockstar suggest that the developer is at the very least still open to porting its older catalog of games. Back in August, a re-release of Red Dead Redemption finally saw the original open-world western title come to PS4 and Nintendo Switch. That being said, this version of the game didn't contain any notable upgrades whatsoever and was largely seen as a disappointment to those on PS4. Given the ongoing success of Red Dead as an IP, a new release of Red Dead Redemption 2 continues to make a lot of sense, but it's still unknown if Rockstar will end up giving fans what they want in the long run.