Korean authorities have rated Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar Games’ original cowboy epic, as of June 15, 2023. The listing, discovered and quickly propagated online, has fueled rampant speculation that a remaster of the game is on the way. In other corners, like ours, that’s cause for some enthusiasm, given that the original Red Dead Redemption never released on PC.
Throwing a big ol’ wrench in that theory is this detail: It’s a rating for console, reports Gematsu, as the letters “NV” in its ratings classification indicates. PC games have an “NP” classification. That doesn’t rule out the existence of a PC version, but it does mean this exact listing ain’t it.
In case you’re wondering, yes, the original Red Dead Redemption on PS3 did have a Korean edition in 2010—this isn’t just a local release 13 years late. The Korean ratings board has been the source of leaks in the past, as with God of War: Ragnarok and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
The last we heard of a Red Dead Redemption remaster was July 2022, when a Rockstar insider leaked that plans for a remaster of RDR and Grand Theft Auto 4 were sketched out and in consideration. That was before the disastrous reception of remaster Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy, which was infamously buggy. That bad launch supposedly led to Take-Two deciding not to pursue further remasters—even though the Trilogy remaster it was financially successful enough for their CEO to publicly boast about it.
Fans of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5 on PC are obviously excited at the idea of more from their favorite series coming to their platform of choice, especially with the potential for modding. That excitement has fueled years of speculation about Rockstar’s plans for ports, first of the GTA Trilogy and now with Red Dead Redemption. Every cease and desist sent to a fan project in the run up to GTA: The Trilogy added fuel to wild-eyed desires for remasters and ports.
Anyway, if and when we get Red Dead Redemption on PC, I just hope Jack Black is there waiting for us.