A Red Dead Redemption PC port has been canceled after publisher Take-Two Interactive filed a lawsuit against fan developer DamnedDev. The developer announced back in September that Take-Two had told DamnedDev to shut down the fan remaster, but the fan had not actually canceled the project when told to do so.
DamnedDev’s “Red Dead Redemption: Damned Enhancement Project” was meant to be an upgraded PC port of the Red Dead Redemption PS4 and Xbox One versions. Despite releasing all the way back in 2010, Take-Two and Red Dead series developer Rockstar have yet to release an official Red Dead Redemption PC version, prompting fans like DamnedDev to attempt a port themselves. Rockstar recently released Red Dead Redemption 2 PC, bringing the series to PC for the first time.
Despite Take-Two’s takedown orders, it appears DamnedDev refused to cancel the project for some time. According to reporting at the time DamnedDev announced Rockstar’s demands, the fan was attempting to convince Take-Two that the port was legal, and DamnedDev said in a November 13 post to an online Grand Theft Auto forum that the PC port was still on target for a December release. DamnedDev only discovered Take-Two’s lawsuit through a YouTube streamer’s December 27 broadcast, saying the company did not notify them ahead of time that it was filing. The developer’s original forum post about the project was then updated to say “Cancelled.”
News site TorrentFreak obtained a copy of Take-Two’s lawsuit, which details the company’s complaints against Johnathan Wyckoff (who appears to be DamnedDev). According to the lawsuit, Take-Two believes Wyckoff’s efforts would both create competition for Take-Two’s Red Dead Redemption 2 PC port and “destroy” the potential market for an official PC port of the original Red Dead Redemption. Take-Two also claimed Wyckoff threatened the game files would be leaked if the company tried to stop the project. Take-Two gave Wyckoff until November 18 to confirm that the project was canceled, but he did not respond in time.
The legality of mods and fan projects like DamnedDev’s are always up for question. There are plenty of smaller mods for Red Dead Redemption 2 out there already – even some especially shady Red Dead Redemption 2 PS4 mods – but it appears Take-Two simply felt this project would have too big a financial impact on the series’ PC sales. Take-Two did not say whether it actually plans on releasing an official port, but, in the absence of the Damned Enhancement Project, one can only hope.
The original Red Dead Redemption released on May 18, 2010, for Xbox 360 and PS3.
