Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnickhas stated that there is "No Downside" to releasing Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC, fueling speculation that the game will be released at some point in the future on that platform. While nothing is confirmed at this point, it would make financial sense to broaden the market on which the game, and its microtransactions, could be sold apart from only the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Developer Rockstar Games has said nothing on the subject, nor has Take-Two, however all signs continue to point to an eventual release onto the PC. Most notable of all is when Zelnick spoke at an investor briefing this week in New York City. When prompted with the assertion that releasing Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC would be a "layup,” as in an easy task to accomplish, Zelnick responded by stating that, “There is no downside to releasing the game on PC.”
From a purely financial perspective, there is virtually nothing but profit to be made from releasing the game onto the PC platform. Rockstar Games’ other hit property, Grand Theft Auto V, has been on PC as well as consoles since 2015. In the complimentary Grand Theft Auto Online, players can spend real money towards microtransactions that are surely generating revenue for the company. There would need to be a particular reason to not exploit this market, one that is ready and more than willing to shell out cash to play the Western title on their PCs.
This is further supported by the fact that the game was considered among the bestselling titles of 2018 alongside Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and NBA 2k19. The market is clearly ready for the release of the game onto PC, but time will tell if that actually happens.
The story would be different if Red Dead Redemption 2 were a Sony exclusive, then there would be zero chance of the game moving over to the PC. However, as the game is already available on the Xbox One, there is little argument to not port it over. Perhaps the only indicator that there will not be a port to PC lies in history. The first game, Red Dead Redemption, was released in 2010 and despite much speculation and similar conversation, was never released onto the PC.
While Rockstar Games is not going to be at E3 from June 11-13, Take-Two will be in attendance to further pitch its upcoming Borderlands 3 sequel. If we are lucky, we might be given a small teaser indicating the future of Red Dead Redemption 2 on the PC.