'Red Dead Redemption' Is Available on Mobile for the First Time Ever, but There's a Catch

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Rockstar fans might be all-in on waiting for GTA VI, but Grand Theft Auto is far from the only big title the company makes. One of Rockstar's most impactful games, Red Dead Redemption, turned 15 in May. All these years later, it's still very much worth your time—if critics and fans have anything to say about it.

On Tuesday, Rockstar announced some big news for the first Red Dead: First, anyone who owns a copy of the game for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, can now upgrade to the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, or Nintendo Switch 2 versions for free. That includes upgrades like 60 fps, upgraded visuals, support for HDR, and 4K resolution—at least on PlayStation and Xbox.

But console gamers aren't the only ones impacted here. Rockstar also revealed that Red Dead Redemption is now available on mobile for the first time ever. This could open the game up to a whole new market of players who don't own a console—if your primary gaming device is your smartphone or tablet, you can now check out Red Dead Redemption in its entirety. Depending on your device, you may even have access to a "performance mode" that boosts the frame rate of the game. Otherwise, it appears locked to 30 fps—though that might not be as noticeable on mobile as it would on a TV.

Red Dead on mobile is either free, or very expensive

However, there's a bit of a catch here. Depending on your current subscriptions, Red Dead Redemption's mobile port can either be completely free, or quite expensive. If you look at the listings for the game on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store, you'll see the game currently costs $39.99. That's pricey for a mobile game, even a console port. While there aren't many games as large as Red Dead with mobile versions, the ones that are aren't quite this 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 want to commit to the mobile port of the game—especially if you have other means of playing it. The PS4 version is currently $29.99 at Best Buy: If you have either a PS4 or PS5, you can enjoy the game on your TV for $10 less. Plus, PS5 owners can upgrade to the higher-performing version for free.

Speaking of free, however, there is a way to play Red Dead Redemption on the go without spending anything—or, at least, anything extra. If you have an active Netflix subscription, you can download the Netflix version on your iPhone or Android free of charge. It's the same game, just validated through your Netflix account—so if you have a Netflix subscription, I highly recommend you download this version before you spend money on the game.

If it sounds weird that Netflix is offering Red Dead for free, I don't blame you. However, this isn't really something new for the company. Netflix has been offering free games for subscribers for four years now, and while some of them are Netflix-owned, others are major titles the company licenses. That includes games like Into the Breach, Moonlighter, Heads Up!, and, of course, Red Dead Redemption. Netflix doesn't even require you to have a specific subscription to access these games: All subs, including its cheapest "With Ads" plan, can play.

If you've never played Red Dead Redemption, the cheapest way to experience the game right now is to subscribe to Netflix for a month. You could pay $7.99 for the company's least expensive plan, and after catching up on Stranger Things, you could play through all of Red Dead. Not a bad deal.

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