It’s been seven long years since Rockstar graced the world with Red Dead Redemption 2, and it’s still running at just 30 frames per second on consoles. Yep, despite the PlayStation 5 and the Series X’s impressive hardware, the game remains locked at 30 FPS, a far cry from the smooth, fluid 60 FPS experience available on PC (depending on your setup).
So, where is the 60 FPS patch for consoles, Rockstar? To this day, players and the broader gaming community remain baffled by Rockstar’s complete silence on a current-gen update for their critically acclaimed open-world cowboy epic.
Other titles in Rockstar’s catalog, Grand Theft Auto V in particular, have already received 60 FPS patches for modern consoles, with additional enhancements even making their way to PC. Worse still, the original Red Dead Redemption got a 60 FPS patch before Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s starting to look like Rockstar is playing favorites, but what could’ve happened that made them ignore such a basic update?
Even Arthur Morgan’s voice actor, Roger Clark, is deeply aware of this omission and posted a Tweet for the funsies.
There are plenty of theories, but Rockstar likely won’t address this anytime soon, especially with their focus now on polishing the final stages of Grand Theft Auto VI. Still, many players are concerned this might signal deeper issues. Both Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA VI use Rockstar’s proprietary RAGE engine. If they haven’t figured out how to get RDR2 to run at 60 FPS on consoles after nearly a decade, what hope is there for GTA VI?
Rumors suggest GTA VI may also run at 30 FPS on consoles, a deal-breaker for some, especially considering the years of hype. It’s expected to be a massive open-world title, and even Digital Foundry, a well-respected authority on gaming tech, has speculated that 30 FPS might be the target.
Which brings us right back to the missing 60 FPS mode for Red Dead Redemption 2. At this point, it seems there are only two possibilities: either Rockstar can’t find a viable way to optimize the game for consoles, or they’re working on it and are simply too consumed by GTA VI’s looming release.
In the meantime, Red Dead Redemption 2 players on consoles (Online included) are stuck with a limiting, locked 30 FPS cowboy experience.
There’s been no meaningful progress toward a 60 FPS patch for Red Dead Redemption 2 on consoles, and at this rate, there may never be one. Unless you’re risking it through mods.
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