Red Dead Redemption Is Available on Mobile Devices for the First Time, but There’s a Catch.
Rockstar fans may be eagerly awaiting GTA VI , but Grand Theft Auto is far from the company’s only major project. In May, one of Rockstar’s most impressive games, Red Dead Redemption , turned 15 years old. After all these years, it’s still worth your attention—if critics and fans have anything to say about it.
On Tuesday, Rockstar announced some major news for the first Red Dead : first, anyone who owns a copy of the game on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch can now upgrade to the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, or Nintendo Switch 2 versions for free. This includes improvements like 60 frames per second, enhanced graphics, HDR support, and 4K resolution—at least on PlayStation and Xbox.
But this isn’t just for console gamers. Rockstar also announced that Red Dead Redemption is available on mobile devices for the first time. This could open up the game to a whole new market of players who don’t own a console. If your primary gaming device is a smartphone or tablet, you can now fully experience Red Dead Redemption . Depending on your device, you may even have access to a “performance mode” that boosts the game’s frame rate. Otherwise, the game will feel like it’s locked at 30 frames per second, though this may not be as noticeable on a mobile device as it is on a TV.
Red Dead on mobile is either free or very expensive.
There’s a small catch, though. Depending on your current subscriptions, the mobile port of Red Dead Redemption can be either completely free or quite expensive. If you look at the game’s listings on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store , you’ll see that it currently costs $39.99. That’s expensive for a mobile game, even for a console port. While there aren’t many games as large as Red Dead with mobile versions, those that do aren’t that expensive. Stardew Valley is $4.99; Minecraft is $6.99; GTA: San Andreas is $6.99 (though the Definitive Edition is $19.99); Hitman: Absolution is $14.99. $39.99, by comparison, is steep.
I’m not saying Red Dead isn’t worth $40, but you need to be sure you’re willing to buy the mobile version of the game, especially if you have other ways to play. The PS4 version is currently $29.99 at Best Buy . If you have a PS4 or PS5, you can enjoy the game on your TV for a $10 savings. Plus, PS5 owners can upgrade to the more powerful version for free.
Speaking of free, there’s a way to play Red Dead Redemption on the go without spending anything—or at least nothing extra. If you have an active Netflix subscription, you can download the Netflix version for free on your iPhone or Android . It’s the same game, just verified through your Netflix account, so if you have a Netflix subscription, I highly recommend downloading this version before spending any money on the game.
If you find it odd that Netflix is offering Red Dead for free, I don’t blame you. However, this isn’t exactly new for the company. Netflix has been offering free games to subscribers for four years now , and while some of them are Netflix-owned, others are major titles licensed by the company. This includes titles like Into the Breach , Moonlighter , Heads Up!, and, of course, Red Dead Redemption . Netflix doesn’t even require a special subscription to access these games: all subscriptions, including the cheapest “Ad-Supported” plan, are available to play.
If you’ve never played Red Dead Redemption , the cheapest way to experience the game right now is with a monthly Netflix subscription. You can pay $7.99 for the company’s cheapest plan, and after watching Stranger Things , you can play through the entire Red Dead series . Not a bad deal.