The PC launch cycle of Red Dead Redemption 2 came to a close with the last planned platform release today. Fans can now purchase RDR2 through Steam, Valve's industry-leading digital distribution service. The game was previously available via the Rockstar Games Launcher, the Epic Games Store, Google Stadia, and select retailers like Greenman Gaming.
The Steam version of Red Dead Redemption 2 includes Steam Achievements, built-in chat functionality as well as Steam Broadcast support, allowing you to live-stream gameplay to your Steam friends and other users of the platform. Other than this, the game itself is unchanged from the previous PC releases, and like the others, includes a number of technical enhancements over the console versions.
These include a photo mode, a full suite of graphics options and upgrades such as an uncapped framerate and 4K support, as well as PC exclusive content which adds new Gang Hideout missions, other activities and a set of items as well.
Many fans were waiting for this particular release as the Epic Games Store remains controversial in the wider gaming community. Some view their strategy of landing exclusive deals as nefarious, even though Epic offers developers and publishers a much more generous cut from sales than Valve does. With Steam's near-monopoly on digital distribution, few other strategies would have allowed a new storefront to become viable, and luckily sales data shows that those opposing the Epic Games Store are a vocal minority.
Nonetheless, Steam Achievements and RDR2's inevitable inclusion in Steam's legendary sales are bound to attract a large number of new players to the game on PC. Many players on PC also prefer to use as few individual launcher clients as possible, so centralizing their collections on Steam is the best choice. Note that the game still requires the Rockstar Games Launcher in order to function, however.
