How could Red Dead Redemption 2 improve on PC?

We first published this article at the tail-end of October 2018, but having revisited the content, it's just as relevant then as it was now. We kicked off by talking about the PC rendering API that will be used. While this - and other PC improvements - have yet to be confirmed, the reveal of the game arriving on Stadia confirms that somewhere at least, a Vulkan-enabled rendition of the game exists, and may well come to consumers. We'll update when we learn more.

Will Red Dead Redemption 2 receive a PC version, and if so, what kind of visual upgrades could Rockstar deliver? The truth is that the existing console versions already possess high-end techniques sometimes reserved for high-end PC GPUs, so on the face of it, the options seem limited. And let's remember that Rockstar hasn't actually confirmed any PC version at all - though a data dump of the RDR2 mobile companion app seems highly indicative.

With that said, it's fair to say that if a PC version does appear, prior Rockstar releases suggest that the developer will take the time and effort to get the most out of the more powerful technology - and that starts with the rendering API. Grand Theft Auto 4, Max Payne 3 and the wonderfully late port of GTA5 all stood head and shoulders above the console counterparts. Sure, GTA4 still has issues with attaining higher frame-rates, but their graphical feature set and scalability in general is wonderful. Common to all of these releases are Rockstar's utilisation of what was then the latest rendering API. GTA4 did not support DirectX 10, but both Max Payne 3 and GTA5 utilise DX11 - with both the games scaling rather well, with multi-core CPUs allowing you to achieve desired high frame-rates.

Read more