After over a year of waiting, PC gamers can finally ride into Red Dead Redemption 2, as the game has officially released on the Rockstar Games Launcher and the Epic Games Store. The almost 110GB pre-load has now been unlocked as well, which should prompt a 3GB day one update after decrypting.
Rockstar Games has dubbed this release the "ultimate version of Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang’s open world epic," owing to the various enhancements it carries for the PC audience. These include better draw distances, as well as higher quality ambient occlusion, global illumination, snow trails, and reflections, among other features.
The resolutions of shadows, tessellation, and textures have also been bumped up, which come alongside support for uncapped frame rates, 4K and higher resolutions, HDR, plus multi-monitor and ultra-wide setups. There is an exclusive photo mode included too.
For those who may be hesitant about experiencing Red Dead Redemption 2 before the original"s storyline, since it never launched on PC, know that this entry mostly falls in the prequel category. However, you will miss out on some references and returning character connections.
Here"s a short rundown of the game"s setting straight from the developer:
America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive.
Both AMD and Nvidia have released new drivers that add support for the game. And here are the minimum and recommended hardware specifications:
Minimum
- OS: Windows 7 - Service Pack 1 (6.1.7601)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K | AMD FX-6300
- Memory: 8GB
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 2GB | AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB
- HDD Space: 150GB
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10 - April 2018 Update (v1803)
- Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K | AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
- Memory: 12GB
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB | AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB
- HDD Space: 150GB
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available for purchase on Rockstar Games Launcher and Epic Games Store with a $59.99 price tag for the Standard Edition. Those who pre-ordered the game should find their bonuses waiting for them in-game - and also outside since Rockstar Launcher had other games as bonuses.
Anyone looking for a Steam version has some more waiting to do, as Rockstar is planning a December launch on the platform. A firm release date has not been shared yet.