TheNintendo Switchis nearing the end of its lifespan, with Nintendo in full swing to announce its next best console to eager fans. While it is slowly being phased out, the Switch has had a strong send-off, with Nintendo releasing a number of brand-new spin-offs and titles within beloved franchises. Of course, there are still a handful of first-party games coming to the original Switch, but, for the most part, developers have long since moved on to the Switch 2 and are preparing for its inevitable release.
This means that a lot of players are curious about what theSwitch 2’s third-party launch gameswill be, and whether they’ll include the likes ofCyberpunk 2077andElden Ring. However, while everyone gets excited about upcoming Switch 2 titles,it’s hard not to reflect on which games the Switch missed, despite all the miracle ports that managed to make their way over. There is one game in particular that never made it to the Switch, despite there being plenty of reasons for it to make the jump.
It Would Complete The Series On Nintendo’s Handheld
Red Dead Redemption 2, despite being one of the most popular games of all time and one of the few titles that managed to make the top ten best-selling games of all time list, never made its way over to the Nintendo Switch. Of course, there have been a few Rockstar games that made it onto the Nintendo Switch, including a strong port ofL.A. Noire, the somewhatcontroversialGTA Trilogy, and, surprisingly, the originalRed Dead Redemption. So,it is disappointing that the belovedRed Dead Redemption 2never made the jump.
Six Years After RDR2’s Success, Red Dead Redemption 3 Will Have No Real Competition
Despite the massive success of Red Dead Redemption 2, the Western genre hasn’t seen much of a revival in the gaming world in recent years.
As of November 2024, according toStatista,Red Dead Redemption 2has sold 67 million copies. While that is undeniably impressive,it would have almost certainly sold significantly more had it been released on Nintendo’s hardware, especially earlier on in its lifespan. There isn’t anything likeRDR2on the Switch, with the handful of truly enormous open-world RPGs lacking the immersive gameplay and storytelling that it offers. Of course, it’s easy to say thatRed Dead Redemption 2should have been on the Switch, but it’s hard to say whether it would even have run on it.
Could The Nintendo Switch Run RDR2?
It’s Possible With Some Sacrifices
It’s highly unlikely that the Nintendo Switch could have runRed Dead Redemption 2without some serious sacrifices being made. The closest point of comparison is 2015’sThe Witcher 3, which while one of thebest Switch portsof all time, significantly reduced its resolution, overall image quality, and number of NPCs to try and achieve a stable framerate. Even now,The Witcher 3struggles to maintain a consistent 30 FPS on the Switch whenever the player goes to busy locations, like major cities and settlements.
There is also 2023’sHogwarts Legacy, which runs relatively smoothly on the Switch despite being a more modern release. Once again, significant sacrifices have been made to get it to run on the Nintendo Switch, making it theinferior version ofHogwarts Legacy. Importantly,the sacrifices made toHogwarts Legacyon Switch go far beyond cosmetic, as additional loading screens had to be added to villages beyond Hogwarts as well as the shops within those spaces. Additionally, important details and locations were altered in some cases in order to achieve a smoother 30 FPS.
Even ifRed Dead Redemption 2could have run on the Nintendo Switch - which it may have been able to with similar concessions made to it like Hogwarts Legacy -it’s unlikely that Rockstar would have agreed to the changes anyway. One of the biggest selling points ofRDR2is its impressive level of immersion and realism, both of which would be diminished greatly were it to be compressed onto a tiny 32GB Switch cartridge.
There’s Still Hope For RDR2 On Switch 2
It Could Be A Launch Title
Fortunately, there is still hope for Nintendo fans wanting to complete theRed Dead Redemptionadventure, asRDR2is likely to launch on the Nintendo Switch 2. Considering theSwitch 2’s leaked specsimply that it’s as powerful as the PS4, it would have no trouble runningRed Dead Redemption 2. It is even possible thatRDR2may be released as a launch title for the console to showcase how it has improved upon the original Switch.
Red Dead Redemption 3 Would Be Great, But The Best RDR2 Follow-Up Might Be Something Else Entirely
Red Dead Redemption absolutely deserves a sequel or prequel game at some point, but Rockstar’s next game should be something else entirely.
With games likeDeath Strandingrunning on mobile phones, it is absolutely only a matter of time before people are playingRed Dead Redemption 2on a Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, it was unlikely to ever have come to the first Switch, even if other AAA open-world titles managed to make the jump thanks to their incredible miracle ports. Thankfully, theSwitch 2’sbackwards compatibility means that anyone who bought the originalRed Dead Redemptioncan still carry over the adventure to the next Nintendo console.
