Update: The mysterious Red Dead Redemption 2 listing on the Australian Classification Board’s website has been updated since I wrote about it yesterday. It was refused classification before, but now it appears to have been approved. It’s received an age rating of MA 15+. There haven’t been any other changes, however, and it still doesn’t mention PC.
Original story: The possibility of an impending Red Dead Redemption 2 PC port has once again reared its head, this time thanks to a listing on the Australian Classification Board’s website.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s application was submitted by the IARC, an international classification system that partially automates the process of getting a rating, rather than Rockstar. On August 20, it was refused a classification, though the reason isn’t listed.
There’s no mention of the PC version on the website, though new versions are one of the main reasons a game would need to be classified again. This recently happened with DayZ’s physical version, which was also refused classification. In that case, even the digital version had to be removed from sale, though it’s not clear if the console versions of Red Dead Redemption 2 will be similarly affected. The previous application in 2018 was successful, netting it an MA 15+.
This doesn’t necessarily indicate that the PC version will contain anything additional that the board finds objectionable. When DayZ was refused classification, it was over elements of the game that had existed when it was originally rated.
Rumours and hints of a port have been flying around since last year, including evidence straight from Rockstar’s Social Club website. Some have been debunked, but at this point there’s so much pointing to a port that it’s more a question of when it’s going to happen.
It could be soon. The surprise launch of the Rockstar Games Launcher last week suggests that Rockstar has something new to put on it. There’s not much to it right now, but this could be a trial run before it attempts to actually launch a game on it.