How to Play Red Dead Redemption (and RDR2) on PC (2024)

Of all the Rockstar Games titles that never made it to PC, Red Dead Redemption is the one that hurts most for keyboard/mouse warriors. It’s understandable, too, given that it’s an open-world game made by the kings of the wide-open space, and the only one that doesn’t have “Grand”, “Theft” or “Auto” in the title. Well, the good news PC owners, is that you can play it on PC right now… assuming you have the necessary hardware and operating system.

Two things are essential to playing Red Dead Redemption on PC: the Windows 10 operating system, and an Xbox One. Yes, you read correctly. The essential piece of hardware in the equation is, indeed, an Xbox One. With the Xbox One, you can purchase Red Dead Redemption through the Backwards Compatibility program. Alternatively, if you still have your Xbox 360 copy of Red Dead Redemption (as I did), you can put the disc in the new-gen console and play it for free. If you have the disc, you’ll still have to download the full game, which is about 7.5GB, and you’ll need to keep the disc in the drive to play it.

With your Xbox One switched on and logged in to your profile, jump over to your Windows 10 PC (or any Windows 10-enabled device, really) and fire up the Xbox app. It’s inbuilt to Windows 10, and after you’ve linked your Xbox Live account on your PC with the same on your Xbox One that has Red Dead Redemption installed, you’re almost ready to play.

It’s worth noting that, at this stage, you’ll need a compatible controller connected to your PC to play Red Dead Redemption, or any Xbox One game. You have options here. Use a preferred one you already have connected to your PC, grab an old wired Xbox 360 controller (they’re plug-and-play, so just connect it to a USB port on your PC), or use a micro-USB cable to connect an Xbox One controller to your PC. If you prefer to play with a wireless controller, I’d recommend buying the Xbox Wireless Adapter for PC peripheral that lets you have wire-free connections from PC (or Windows 10 device) to a wireless Xbox One controller.

In the Xbox app on your Windows 10 device, look for the ‘Game streaming’ box, then click on the ‘Xbox one connection’ text. This will scan your local network for a powered-on Xbox One with the same account credentials as what you inputted into the Xbox app in Windows 10. If it doesn’t find your console automatically, you can manually force it to find your Xbox One by manually inputting its IP address. (Go back to your Xbox One, find the ‘Settings’ cog, then ‘All Settings’, ‘Network’, then ‘Network Settings’; select ‘Advanced settings’ to view your Xbox One’s IP address.)

Bear in mind that you shouldn’t have to go through this manual option if your Xbox One and Windows 10 device are connected to the same network. After configuring local streaming, you can also power on an Xbox One that’s configured for streaming from the Windows 10 Xbox app, as long as the Xbox One is using the default Instant-on mode (and the power is switched on at the wall).

Speaking of networks, it’s best to stick with wired connections, for both Xbox One and PC, where possible. It’s not essential to streaming games from Xbox One to Windows 10 device, but it does unlock the potential for high-quality streaming, which means they have a better chance of looking exactly like they do on the console when streaming to your Windows 10 PC. If you go the wireless route, you might have to settle for medium or even low quality to stream games from Xbox One to Windows 10 device. To check or change the quality settings, use your mouse to click on the quality icon (in the top right) to switch between very high, high, medium and low streaming settings.

And that’s it! You’re ready to play Red Dead Redemption – or any other Xbox One game, for that matter – on your Windows 10 PC or device. As for why you would consider playing Red Dead Redemption on a platform other than your Xbox One, well, there are actually plenty of reasons. If you’re in a one-TV household, and your Xbox One is connected to that TV, streaming to a Windows 10 device is a simple way to play Xbox One games while your TV is being used for something else.

Windows 10 also includes the Xbox One’s DVR features, which means you can capture high-resolution screenshots and gameplay footage directly to your PC, which makes it a cinch for simple or advanced editing (with the relevant software) and sharing online. I can’t speak for everyone, but my computer chair is comfier and, more importantly, better for my posture than the couch in my lounge, particularly when it comes to extended gaming sessions.

In the same breath, if you’re a PC owner who uses multiple monitors on your desktop or laptop station, gaming can be treated as a second-screen experience (or vice versa), while you multitask between social media, emails, videos, or any other number of things that a second screen affords in terms of productivity or procrastination. Specific to Red Dead Redemption, it means you can, say, have a second screen with the map open on an appropriate website, or tips on how to find particular hidden items, such as the increasingly trickier treasure hunts, in the game world.

For advanced users who have the right software and are into streaming games online, local streaming from Xbox One to PC before globally streaming what you’re playing, like Red Dead Redemption, allows you to easily monitor and respond to the chatroom on your Twitch or YouTube stream while playing an Xbox One game.

By far the most compelling argument for streaming Red Dead Redemption to a Windows 10 device is that the PC is unlikely to ever see a port for the game. Rockstar has gently rejected the idea in the past most likely because Rockstar had quite the fight to get the game working for last-gen consoles. For impatient PC gamers, though, the reality is the only way to play Red Dead Redemption on PC is to use this streaming method. And when Red Dead Redemption 2 drops late October, this method might also be the only way to play it on PC as well. Though if rumours persist, it will arrive on PC within at least a year of the console release. At least, that's what we hop for.

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