It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Red Dead Redemption 2 is not only one of the best games of 2018 and of this generation, it’s flat-out one of the greatest games ever made. Soon, PC gamers will be able to experience the game’s beauty and ambition for themselves, with Rockstar announcing after months of speculation that their open world masterpiece will indeed be launching on PC roughly a year after its original launch. As is often the case with most games, PC gamers can look forward to what will be the definitive version of an excellent game, so as we approach the game’s massive release on the platform, in this feature, we’ll be taking a look at 10 vital pieces of info that you should know about it. With all that out of the way, let’s get started.
ENHANCEMENTS
One of the biggest reasons fans will be looking forward to play Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC is all the visual enhancements that the game will be receiving thanks to more powerful hardware. It was already a stunner on consoles, but now, Rockstar are adding even more stuff to make it that much more impressive. Like the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro versions of the game, on PC it will support HDR and 4K resolutions, while also including support for multi-monitor configurations, widescreen configurations, faster frame rates, and more. On top of that, the game boasts higher quality global illumination and ambient occlusion for improved day and night lighting, higher resolution shadows at all distances, higher quality snow trails, improved reflections, improved grass and fur textures, increased draw distances, and more.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT
Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC will also be launching with some new content that console users haven’t yet had access to. There’s two new treasure maps, two new gang hideouts, a new mission (focused on collecting herbs for various different rewards), three new Bounty Hunter missions, four new weapons for the campaign (including two revolvers, one repeater, and one pistol), four new horse types in the campaign (in addition to three new wild horse variations), and five new trinkets for collection that grant permanent gameplay buffs in the game.
RED DEAD ONLINE
When Red Dead Redemption 2 launched on PS4 and Xbox One last year, it released with just its single player campaign, with the online component arriving shortly afterward. That, as you can imagine, will not be the case with the PC release, and the game will be coming with Red Dead Online included. Red Dead Online on PC will launch with all the content updates and upgrades that Rockstar have made to it so far, including the most recent Frontier Pursuits update.
MODS
One of the biggest advantages PC gaming provides over all consoles is user-created mods, which can lend an incredibly long life to games, especially when they’re massive open world titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 is. Rockstar’s own Grand Theft Auto 5, for instance, has enjoyed excellent support from its modding community, with more ordinary mods – like ones that turn it into a game looking like it’s running on hardware 5 years from the future – to the more bizarre ones – like ones that let you play as Superman or the Incredible Hulk. We can probably expect similar stuff for Red Dead Redemption 2, and can’t wait to see what the modding community does with this game.
ROCKSTAR LAUNCHER
You know what the PC gaming scene doesn’t have enough of? Digital storefronts. Steam, Epic Games Store, Humble store, Origin, Bethesda launcher, Battle.net, Uplay, and just a few couple quintillion more- that’s not a lot, right? Well, recently, Rockstar threw their own hat into the ring when they released the Rockstar Games Launcher. Many speculated that they were gearing up for the PC release of Red Dead Redemption 2, and that’s turned out to be true.
Pre-purchases for Red Dead Redemption 2 on the Rockstar Games Launcher are live right now, at this very moment, and buying the game will net you with some exclusive pre-purchase bonuses. Get the game before October 22, and you will get a choice of two additional free games of their choice from a list that includes Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Bully: Scholarship Edition, L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition, and Max Payne 3: The Complete Edition.
Anyone pre-purchasing via the Rockstar Games Launcher will also get free upgrades to the Premium Editions of Red Dead Redemption 2, with both the Special Edition and Ultimate Edition discounted by $20 each. Finally, there’s a list of other pre-order bonuses exclusive to the Rockstar Games Launcher, including 50 Gold Bars for Red Dead Online, and a a war horse, cash bonus, Outlaw Survival Kit, and treasure map in the campaign.
OTHER STOREFRONTS
Don’t fret though- Red Dead Redemption 2 is not exclusive to the Rockstar Games Launcher, for those who care about that sort of thing. Rockstar ave confirmed that the game will also be available via the Epic Games Store, the Humle store, Greenman Gaming, and other digital retailers like GameStop. Interestingly enough, the game will also be a launch title for Stadia when the service launches in late November.
STEAM
You’ll have noticed that we haven’t mentioned Steam in all our talk of the storefronts the game will be available on. Red Dead Redemption 2 will indeed be available on Steam, but there’s a catch- it won’t launch on Valve’s storefront simultaneously with the game’s PC launch. Thankfully, you won’t have to wait too long. While many games in recent months have been announced Steam releases delayed by a year or so, Red Dead Redemption 2’s launch will only be delayed by a month. An exact release date hasn’t been confirmed, but we do know it’ll hit Steam sometime in December.
PRE-ORDER BONUSES
Pre-purchasing for Red Dead Redemption 2 might already be available on th Rockstar Games Launcher, but other storefronts don’t have to wait too long. Not including Steam, all the other platforms will open up pre-orders for the game on October 23. Anyone pre-ordering via those platforms will get a bonus of 25 Gold Bars in Red Dead Online.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
The biggest question for any game coming to PC is- what are the system requirements? For Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC, they look suitably hefty. Minimum requirements mention an 8 GB RAM, while recommended requirements mention a 12 GB RAM, while the required HDD space on both is a whopping 150 GB. Meanwhile, for minimum requirements, you’ll need at least an Intel Core i5-2500K or and AMD FX-6300, along with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 2GB or an AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB. Rockstar, however, recommends at an Intel Core i7-4770K or an AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, alongside an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or an AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB.
RELEASE DATE
So that’s all well and good, but when exactly is it releasing? Red Dead Redemption 2 launches on PC on November 5, which is just a little over a year after its PS4 and Xbox One launch in late October last year. As we mentioned earlier, its Steam launch will come a little later in December.
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