Red Dead Redemption 2 HDR Patch?

Six months ago Rockstar released Red Dead Redemption 2 with broken HDR. As you can see above our friend Vincent shows us the HDR feature in Red Dead Redemption 2 has been purposefully “faked” by Rockstar. This means that by turning on the HDR feature you will experience worse contrast than if you just left the feature off. This is extremely disappointing because HDR is obviously supposed to greatly enhance contrast. Why would Rockstar do such a thing? It’s uncharacteristic of Rockstar to release a game with a major feature broken. The fact that the HDR is still unpatched is more than just an inconvenience… it’s clearly a sign of a greater issue with Red Dead Redemption 2.

RDR 2 Online

Ever since the release of the RDR 2 Online beta weeks after the game’s launch, the story mode has seen little in the way of patches. With the story mode being so vast, it is filled with small and large bugs alike. The community forum is filled with posters expressing disappointment because they weren’t really interested in the multiplayer aspect of the game.

Why would Rockstar betray their hardcore audience? The answer is simple.

Despite RDR 2’s massive success – it was only 5/6 the success it was supposed to be. To you, the consumer, this might seem like a small fraction. To a Jewish investor on the other hand it could be a matter of life an death. The fact of the matter is that that Red Dead Redemption 2 required a heavy investment of time and money thus investors were expecting more of pay-off. Not just from the game itself, but the online component.

Grand Theft Auto V Online was a massive financial success for Rockstar. With popularity on both Steam and console platforms and endless microtransactions – Rockstar secured themself a massive cash cow. RDR 2 Online was supposed to be the next cash cow for both Take Two and its investors but for some reason it hasn’t gone that way.

RDR 2 Graphics Downgrade

As time pushes on we would continue to see more love for the multiplayer while Rockstar shits on the singleplayer. In March Rockstar pushes a patch that silently downgrades the graphics in the game and removes SSAO lighting from the game. Fans on the message board were in an uproar because many were still playing the singleplayer, as well as myself.

Why is Rockstar downgrading the graphics instead of fixing the HDR? The situation is a nightmare with no end in sight. Rockstar seems dead-set now on satisfying the cash-cow crowd even if it’s at the expense of those merely trying to enjoy the singleplayer (which is most players).

Six months since release and now a few things are pretty clear. Rockstar just isn’t the company they used to be. Rockstar has no intention of fixing HDR. Those of us who spend thousands on an expensive TV with RDR 2 in mind will never have our satisfaction. At least not until we are forced to double dip with the PC release.