Highlights
- Rockstar Games might be working on a remake of Red Dead Redemption, with rumors suggesting it could be running on the Unreal Engine.
- The recent update to Rockstar's website and a job listing for a Designer of Open World Events adds to the speculation of a remaster.
- While Rockstar typically uses its own proprietary engine, the mention of Unreal Engine experience raises the possibility of its use in the Red Dead Redemption remake/remaster.
Rockstar Games, maker of the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, is rumored to be working on a remake of 2010’s Red Dead Redemption and it could be running on the Unreal Engine. This is according to a job listing recently posted on Rockstar’s official website.
Red Dead Redemption, originally released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, was set in the year 1911, during the waning years of the American frontier, a time when outlaws and lawmen ruled the West. It follows the journey of former outlaw John Marston, whose wife and child are held captive by government officials to force John to kill his former gang members. It was a sequel to 2004’s Red Dead Revolver, though the connection between Revolver and Redemption1 and 2 is tenuous. 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2 is a prequel to Red Dead Redemption.
Evidence of a Red Dead Redemption remaster has been mounting, especially with the recent news of Rockstar updating its website to include a new logo for Red Dead Redemption. The plot has thickened a little more now that Rockstar’s website has added a new job listing for its San Diego office. According to the listing, Rockstar is looking for a Designer of Open World Events. Of course, it’s no secret that Rockstar is currently in development on Grand Theft Auto 6, so it would make sense that the studio is looking to onboard more talent to bring GTA to the finish line. But one line in the job listing casts doubt on that theory. The listing says Rockstar is looking to hire someone with experience using the Unreal Engine.
Rockstar is likely using a proprietary engine for GTA 6, leaving room for speculation that the need for someone with Unreal experience could be for the rumored Red Dead Redemption remake/remaster. The studio has been using its custom-built RAGE engine for nearly all its games since 2006’s Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis, but the 2021 release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition used Unreal Engine 4. Work on the maligned collection was outsourced to Grove Street Games, a developer based in Gainesville, Florida, that specializes in mobile ports of console and PC games.
It is ultimately too early to know for certain why Rockstar is seeking an open-world game designer with Unreal Engine experience. While plenty of studios use proprietary engines to develop their games, that doesn’t mean it’s the only software being used in a given game's development process. But with so many rumors circulating, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Rockstar may be using Unreal to bring Red Dead Redemption back into the public eye.
Red Dead Redemption is available for PS3 and Xbox 360.