Just before this week ends, Red Dead Redemption 2 galloped to an all-time high player count on Steam. This is thanks to a steep discount as a result of the Black Friday sale on the popular digital games distribution platform, resulting in massive savings. The expansive open world epic from Rockstar Games saw over 77,000 concurrent users at peak, trouncing its previous record.
Initially released in October 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the open-world cowboy prequel later made it to PC in November 2019. Since then, Red Dead Redemption 2 has established itself as an award-winning single-player blockbuster with immersive world building, meaningful characterization and impactful narrative.
Several years following its initial release on PC (and over a year after the “death” of Red Dead Online), more than 77,000 players on Steam chose to traverse its landscapes of ambition, cruelty and American myth – an exceptional figure for a narrative-driven game. This past week saw users swell over 90% beyond typical numbers thanks to publisher Rockstar discounting the title 67% from $44.99 down to $14.99. The more content-rich Ultimate Edition also sits half-off at $22.49, presenting incredible value.
Evidently new players are only discovering why Red Dead Redemption 2 merits consideration as one of the best games ever. But, for those who’ve already played through the open-world western before, most are happy to revisit it on a “different” platform.
The PC version is widely considered the definitive port of Red Dead Redemption 2. This is thanks mostly to the robust modding community and the platform’s support for more powerful hardware. To this day, Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the best-looking games on PC, far outscaling many others that were only recently released. It’s this combination of narrative prowess and graphical fidelity that makes Red Dead Redemption 2 still such a big draw despite its apparent age and lack of support from Rockstar Games.
As Red Dead Redemption approaches 100 million copies sold in its lifetime, it shares rarefied air beside the Grand Theft Auto franchise. There’s little doubt that Rockstar is already looking ahead at a third entry, even though it’s neck deep in the development of the next Grand Theft Auto game.
Red Dead is far from dead. It will see the light of the day again, perhaps even in bundled form, a remaster pairing both titles. After all, Red Dead Redemption 2 still hasn’t gotten a proper PS5 and/or Xbox Series S/X port. Rockstar’s current marketing strategy may focus on GTA VI, but it’s clear players are still enamored with the story of John Marston and Arthur Morgan.
Rockstar Games recently re-released Red Dead Redemption on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch earlier this year, to much commercial success. It’s currently preparing to reveal the next GTA game.
