Red Dead Redemption coming to PS4 and PC thanks to PS Now streaming

Where have all the cowboys gone? Well, Paula Cole, I can finally answer that question for you: the cloud.

Rockstar’s beloved Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 Western adventure will hit Sony’s PS Now game-streaming service December 6. PS Now beams games from the cloud similar to how Netflix serves up films, and it is already available on PlayStation 4 and PC in North America, the U.K., Belgium, and The Netherlands. This is the first time that Red Dead fans will have a chance to play Redemption, the second game in the series, on either the PS4 or PC. Since debuting in 2010, some PC players have begged for a port because Red Dead is seen as one of the best open-world games ever made due to its immersive world and complex characters. Of course, not having the option to install mods on the PS Now version means that this is not exactly what PC players have been calling for.

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Red Dead Redemption is already available on Xbox One as part of that system’s backward compatibility with the Xbox 360. If you own the games either physically or digitally for Microsoft’s last-generation console, you can play it on your Xbox One at no additional charge. With the PS Now solution, however, you’ll need a subscription to the service that starts at $20 per month. But Sony has not announced any plans for backward compatibility with the PS3, so having the PS Now option is better than nothing. And it also offers PC gamers a way to play PS3 games without having to own a Sony system.

Red Dead’s reemergence in recent months comes as Rockstar is planning to launch Red Dead Redemption 2 in late 2017.

The sequel to Redemption is actually the third game in the series (Red Dead Revolver was an original Xbox game way back in 2004), and it is already one of the most anticipated releases of 2017. By giving players every chance to go back and play the last game, Rockstar is getting players reinvested in the series — and that could lead to better preorder and launch-day sales figures.