Removed Red Dead Redemption from all PlayStation Stores

If you’ve hesitated before building a digital games library, the original is Red Dead Redemption is here to remind you that you might not miss anything after all. Rockstar’s 2010 open-world western has just been removed from PS Now/Plus after six years. And as the industry moves to include more subscription and streaming services, things are unlikely to get any better.

First Discovered by Twitter news account @videotech_the original Red Dead Redemption vaporized from Sony’s PlayStation streaming titles on PS Plus. First 2016 included as part of the formerly named PS Now service, red dead is notable for never receiving a remaster despite the celebrations it and its zombified expansion deserve. Sony’s streaming service remained the only way to play the game on PlayStation consoles after the PS3. Players must now search for a disc for a compatible Xbox console or dive into the waters of emulation to enjoy John Marston’s debut story.

Play the original Red Dead Redemption via backwards compatibility on Xbox is perhaps the most direct and best way to play it right now. The game get an extended update on the Microsoft console a few years ago, with the resolution bumped up to 4K on Xbox Series X and 1440p on Series S. Hopefully you’ll have access to a good physical copy if you don’t want the digital version, which is still only available on Xbox’s storefront (who could blame you at this point?). With a 2010 initial release date, scratches may be the least of your concerns given how prone DVDs are to aging disc rot.

For those ready to roll up their sleeves with a totally legal copy of the game, RPCS3 offers a path to emulate the experience on PC. For everyone else, this is a reminder that sometimes it pays to stick with the games you love. While we hope that these digital services that we deposit into every month will keep these games accessible, today we want to remind you that such hopes can be dashed very quickly.

It’s almost as if these services are more about ongoing revenue streams than legacy preservation. hmm