It’s actually kinda wild when you think about it. We are well into the life cycle of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and yet, one of the greatest technical achievements in the history of the medium is still stuck in 2018. If you boot up Red Dead Redemption 2 next gen consoles today, you’re basically looking at the exact same code that ran on a base PS4 or Xbox One.
Sure, the hardware brute-forces it. The loading times are faster because of the SSDs. The resolution stays locked at a higher ceiling if you're on a Series X. But that's it. No 60 frames per second. No ray tracing. No haptic feedback for Arthur Morgan’s weary bones. It’s a 30fps cap in a world that has largely moved on to smoother horizons.
Why?
That’s the question that keeps the RDR2 community up at night. Rockstar Games is notorious for its silence, leaving fans to sift through leaked LinkedIn profiles and background code updates for any hint of a "Next Gen" patch. Honestly, the lack of an official update feels like a massive missed opportunity, especially considering how many people are still discovering the tragic tale of the Van der Linde gang for the first time.
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The 60 FPS Elephant in the Room
The biggest gripe anyone has with playing Red Dead Redemption 2 next gen right now is the frame rate. Once you’ve spent a few hundred hours playing Spider-Man 2 or God of War Ragnarök at a silky smooth 60fps, going back to 30fps feels... heavy. It’s sluggish. It feels like Arthur is wading through molasses, even when he’s just walking through the mud of Valentine.
Fans have been screaming for a performance mode.
Technically, the consoles can handle it. We know this because the PC version of the game has been running at high frame rates for years. Modders have even proven that a simple line of code change on "jailbroken" PS5 consoles can unlock the frame rate, showing that the game runs beautifully at 60fps without even needing a full "remaster." But for the average player sitting on their couch, you're stuck with that cinematic—yet sometimes jarring—30fps cap.
Rockstar’s Focus and the GTA 6 Shadow
We have to talk about the elephant in the room: Grand Theft Auto VI.
Rockstar Games is a massive entity, but even they have limits. Development on the next GTA is likely consuming every spare resource the company has. We saw this back in 2022 when Rockstar officially announced they were "shifting more development resources" toward the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series. This came at the direct expense of Red Dead Online, which was essentially put on life support with no more major content updates.
It’s easy to assume that a Red Dead Redemption 2 next gen port was scrapped or shelved during this transition. Rumors from insiders like Tez2—who has a pretty solid track record with Rockstar leaks—suggested that a 4K/60fps update was on the table at one point but got pushed back so everyone could focus on making Vice City look perfect for 2025.
It’s a bummer.
Basically, the logic is simple: GTA makes more money. Shark Cards move the needle in a way that Gold Bars in Red Dead never quite did. If Rockstar has to choose between polishing a seven-year-old cowboy game and finishing the most anticipated sequel in entertainment history, we know which way they’re heading.
What a True Next-Gen Upgrade Should Look Like
If Rockstar ever does get around to a proper "Expanded and Enhanced" version of RDR2, it shouldn't just be a frame rate bump. The engine—the RAGE engine—is capable of so much more.
Imagine Saint Denis with ray-traced reflections. The puddles in the street, the shop windows, the lanterns swinging in the foggy night. The lighting in RDR2 is already world-class, but global illumination would make those forest scenes in Roanoke Ridge look photorealistic.
Then there’s the DualSense controller.
- The haptic feedback could let you feel the difference between galloping on soft grass versus clattering over a wooden bridge.
- Adaptive triggers could add tension to the draw of a bow or the heavy hammer-cock of a Cattleman Revolver.
- The 3D audio could make a thunderstorm in the Heartlands feel genuinely terrifying.
These aren't just "nice to haves." They are the standard for modern gaming. Playing Red Dead Redemption 2 next gen without these features feels like driving a Ferrari with a speed limiter. You know the power is there, you just can’t use it.
The Red Dead Redemption 1 Precedent
There is a glimmer of hope, though.
In 2023, Rockstar released a port of the original Red Dead Redemption for PS4 and Switch. At first, people were annoyed. It was a $50 port of an old game with no new features. But then, a few weeks later, they dropped a surprise update for the PS5 version that enabled 60fps.
That was a huge deal.
It showed that Rockstar is listening, even if they don't talk back. If they were willing to patch a decade-old game to run at 60fps on newer hardware, surely they won’t leave their magnum opus, RDR2, in the dust forever. Some speculate that a "Next Gen" version of RDR2 might be a "Complete Edition" that includes both games, seamlessly linked together. It’s a pipe dream, sure, but in this industry, stranger things have happened.
Is It Still Worth Playing on PS5 and Xbox Series X?
Despite the lack of a formal update, the answer is a resounding yes.
Even at 30fps, RDR2 looks better than 90% of the games released in 2024 and 2025. The sheer level of detail is staggering. The way the snow deforms under your horse's hooves. The way your horse's coat gets matted with sweat after a long ride. The way NPCs react to you if you haven't bathed in three weeks.
The Xbox Series X version, in particular, is the best way to play on consoles right now because it runs at a native 4K. On the PS5, you’re still technically playing the PS4 Pro version, which uses a "checkerboard" rendering technique that can look a little blurry on high-end OLED TVs. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's noticeable if you're a pixel-peeper.
Technical Realities: The PC Comparison
If you want the "true" Red Dead Redemption 2 next gen experience right now, you basically have to buy a PC.
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On a high-end rig, the game is transformative. You can crank the draw distance so far that you can see the lights of Saint Denis from the top of Mount Hagen. You can run it at 120fps. You can use DLSS or FSR to sharpen the image to an absurd degree.
This proves the assets are there. The textures are high-resolution enough to hold up under scrutiny. Rockstar wouldn't even need to "remake" anything. They just need to unlock the settings that already exist on the PC version and port them over to the console environment.
The Business Case for a Re-Release
Let’s be real: Rockstar likes money.
They sold over 190 million copies of GTA V, largely because they kept re-releasing it on every new console that came out. Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold over 60 million copies. That is an insane number. There is a massive market of people who would happily pay $10 or $20 for a "Next Gen Upgrade" or $60 for a "Remastered" physical copy.
From a business perspective, a next-gen patch is "easy" money compared to the billions it costs to develop a new game from scratch. It keeps the brand alive during the long droughts between major releases. It keeps players engaged with the Rockstar ecosystem.
Actionable Steps for the Impatient Cowboy
Since we don't have a release date—or even a confirmation—for a formal Red Dead Redemption 2 next gen update, here is how you can get the best experience today:
- Adjust Your TV Settings: If you’re playing on a modern OLED or 120Hz display, turn on "Motion Interpolation" (often called Soap Opera Effect) with extreme caution. Usually, it's terrible for gaming, but on some Sony or LG sets, a "low" setting can fake the look of 60fps without adding too much input lag. It’s a hack, but for a slow-paced game like Red Dead, it can work.
- Calibrate HDR: RDR2 had a notoriously bad HDR launch. Use the "Game HDR" setting (sometimes called HGIG) and follow a calibration guide specifically for your monitor. It fixes the "washed out" look that many players complain about.
- Manage Your Expectations: Don't wait for a surprise drop during a random Tuesday. Major Rockstar announcements usually happen around their parent company’s (Take-Two Interactive) earnings calls or during massive events like the Summer Game Fest—though Rockstar usually prefers to just tweet a logo and break the internet on their own terms.
- Try the PC Version: If you have a decent gaming laptop or desktop, the game often goes on sale for under $20. It is the only way to play the game as it was truly meant to be seen.
The wait for a proper upgrade is frustrating, especially when we see other developers like CD Projekt Red or Bethesda giving away "Next Gen" patches for free. But Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterpiece that survives its technical limitations. Whether it happens before or after GTA 6, Arthur Morgan deserves to be seen in 60 frames per second. Until then, we just have to have a little "faith."