Rockstar Causes Confusion Over Red Dead Redemption Upgrade On Xbox

Update #2 []:

Following Rockstar's update, we're finally seeing the free upgrade starting to roll out for owners of the Xbox 360 version. It's appearing with a "Just For You" banner and a notification that the offer "expires in 13 days", but we assume the discount will be made permanent - it might be worth grabbing it ASAP just in case!

Here's a look at it:

Rockstar Causes Confusion Over Red Dead Redemption Upgrade On Xbox 3
Rockstar Causes Confusion Over Red Dead Redemption Upgrade On Xbox 2

Update #1 []:

Rockstar Games has now announced via social media that there is an "issue" with upgrading from the digital Xbox 360 version of Red Dead Redemption to the new Xbox Series X|S version, and they're working with Microsoft to fix it.

"We are aware of an issue where Xbox players are unable to upgrade their digital Xbox 360 version of Red Dead Redemption to the Xbox Series X|S version and are working with Microsoft to resolve it. Thank you for your patience."

Original Story: The new upgrade for Red Dead Redemption is out today on all platforms, and while the game is now live and playable on Xbox Series X|S, the upgrade path from the old Xbox 360 version isn't working for lots of players - and there's some confusion as to why at the moment.

When the team at Rockstar announced this new version of RDR last month, they said that "current owners on PS4, Nintendo Switch, or the digital backward compatible version on Xbox One will be able to upgrade digitally for free". However, right now, lots existing owners of Red Dead on 360/Xbox One are being asked to pay the team's introductory 50% off discount for the new version.

To be clear, Rockstar's initial wording on this (as you can see up above) suggests that the back compat version will get a free upgrade. However, after doing a little digging, we're noticing that people who bought this RDR/RDR2 bundle from 2023 (when the PS4 version of RDR came out) are getting free access - whilst owners who bought the 360 version on its own years ago (like yours truly) are being asked to pay up.

Heading over to the game's subreddit only leads to even more confusion. This post, where a fan asks Rockstar Support about the issue, shows the developer saying that the new upgrade is not free for 360 owners - even though on a technical level, the only version of Red Dead Redemption on Xbox prior to this upgrade was indeed the 360 game. It's worth noting that this is just one Rockstar Support response and may not be accurate.

There's a whole discussion further into that thread about what's going on here, with lots of different suggestions and interpretations. One responder shows evidence of their 2023 bundle purchase working for the free upgrade, which again adds to the theory that it's this specific bundle that's providing free access on Xbox Series X|S for now.

So, this could all be one big glitch and older 360 owners will soon get free access - or this whole upgrade path may only apply to newer purchases of Red Dead 1, syncing up with the PS4 and Switch releases from 2023 onwards. Honestly, we're just about as confused as anyone right now, but the long and short of it is that if you can't get in for free just yet and you own the old 360 version, it's worth waiting to see if Rockstar comes out to clarify the situation.

What do you make to this big old RDR saga? Talk to us about it down below.

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.