Upgraded Red Dead Redemption 2 hits PC, Stadia in November

  • This gallery includes captures from the game’s Xbox One X build at full 4K resolution (click the images for full-image downloads) so you can see what to expect.
  • The opening snow sequence sparkles in HDR, though this SDR gallery still hints at the incredible light-and-dark contrast that HDR affords. We haven’t had the XB1X version long enough to confirm how well it locks to a 30fps frame rate, but in very early testing, the results are not necessarily rock-solid.
  • Some incredible material-based lighting systems on display.
  • Another look at light bouncing off of various materials.
  • Sometimes, you can toggle a “cinematic” view when auto-following a compatriot.
  • Snowy scenes look better in action, thanks to so many particles zipping around. Especially in full 4K resolution.
  • A peek at how the game’s HDR calibration interface works. Most games have meters that crank higher on LCD panels than on OLEDs; this game is the opposite, for some curious reason.

PC gamers will finally have a chance to try out Rockstar’s best-selling Red Dead Redemption 2 on November 5, the company announced today. The game will also be a launch title for the planned November launch of Google’s Stadia streaming service.

Rockstar is using the marquee release as a promotion for its new proprietary PC game launcher. Pre-orders on that platform—which will begin on October 9—come with a free upgrade to the Premium Edition, including a number of story-mode DLC bonuses and 50 Gold Bars for use in the Red Dead Online mode. Those pre-orderers will also receive two free legacy Rockstar titles from the following selection:

  • Grand Theft Auto III
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
  • Bully: Scholarship Edition
  • L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition
  • Max Payne 3: The Complete Edition

For PC players who don’t want to use Rockstar’s launcher, the game will also be available via the Epic Games Store, Green Man Gaming, the Humble Store, and GameStop on November 5. Pre-orders on those platforms, starting October 23, will include 25 Gold Bars for Red Dead Online.

Rockstar announced that the game will also be available on Steam, but not until December.

After shipping 23 million copies on consoles in just 100 days, the console version of Red Dead Redemption 2 plateaued at 25 million in August. That puts the game well behind the astronomical sales pace of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V, which sold 29 million units in 72 days back in 2013. That game went on to approach 110 million total sales as of May 2019, with 15 million of those sales coming in the 12 months following May 2018. Following a long and frustrating series of delays, the PC version of Grand Theft Auto finally launched 19 months after the game’s 2013 release on Xbox 360 and PS3. Red Dead Redemption 2, on the other hand, is poised to hit PCs just over 12 months after its console debut.

Rockstar says the PC version of RDR2 “features a range of graphical and technical enhancements for increased immersion along with new Bounty Hunting Missions, Gang Hideouts, Weapons, and more.”

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1579903