Red Dead Redemption 2 files tease a VR mode and PC release

As one of the most anticipated games of the year, Rockstar’s latest AAA blockbuster Red Dead Redemption has lived up to the hype – in fact, it’s currently the highest reviewed game of the Xbox One and PS4 console generation, with Metacritic averages of 97 across both platforms.

PC players, however, are currently twiddling their thumbs waiting for news on if, or more likely when, the game will be making its way to their platform of choice. After all, Grand Theft Auto V and its multiplayer mode have been a hit on PCs, generally ranking in the top 10 of the Steam Charts, which track the number of players currently in-game – surely a PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2 has to be on the cards too?

For now, Rockstar has stayed silent on the topic, but a new report from Rockstar Intel suggests that files found in the code of the Red Dead Redemption 2 companion app are all but confirming a PC release.

The files, discovered by a tipster named Blackscout, reference multiple settings that could only belong to a PC version, including a “frame limiter” parameter, and explicit references to the PC. As noted by Rockstar Insider, the most interesting parameters are below, and while they’re certainly exciting to think about, we’ll need to await word from Rockstar on when a PC release is on its way:

PARAM_FrameLimit – A framelimiter.
PARAM_DX11Use8BitTargets – Probably due to Xbox One.
PARAM_HDStreamingInFlight – Present in GTA V (PC)
PARAM_Oculus
PARAM_companionAutoConnectIpDurango
PARAM_companionAutoConnectIpOrbis
PARAM_companionAutoConnectIpPC
PARAM_singleThreadedRenderer
PostFX::g_CheckerBoardEnable

Just as exciting, though, are references to the Oculus Rift, hinting that Red Dead Redemption 2 may make its way to the VR headset when it finally hits PCs. The game boasts an optional first-person viewpoint from the outset, and perhaps work is being done by Rockstar in the background to get the title ready for VR before launching its PC version.

While VR has struggled to gain the traction many hoped it would in the past couple of years, the incredibly detailed, immersive world of Red Dead Redemption 2 could be the killer app VR needs to convince people to take the plunge and invest in a headset – as close to the Westworld fantasy as we’re likely to get.