Red Dead Redemption could be heading back to stores in a very different form, with a new rumour saying the game may soon get a physical release for PlayStation 5 and a code-in-a-box edition for Nintendo Switch 2. Dealabs Magazine writer billbil-kun says the retail editions are scheduled for 7th May 2026, with both versions priced at €34.99.
The Switch 2 version would reportedly not come on a cartridge at all. Instead, the box would contain only a sheet of paper with a download code printed on it, making Nintendo Life's earlier description of the release as a code-in-a-box entry feel even less exaggerated than it first sounded. The same rumour says the retail package would include the main game alongside the Undead Nightmare DLC, while the PS5 edition would arrive on the same day.
The timing matters because Red Dead Redemption only reached Nintendo Switch 2 in December 2025, and the game has already been treated as a strong showing on the new hardware. Nintendo Life gave it a 9/10, praising slick controls, DLSS, HDR, volumetric effects, options to personalise mouse mode, 60fps performance and a resolution bump that made it look super sharp. In other words, this is not a rescue mission for a dated port so much as a chance to keep selling a version that already landed well with players and critics.
That also leaves one awkward detail at the center of the story: the supposed physical Switch 2 release would not be physical in any meaningful sense for someone who expects a game card in the box. A printed code may still count as retail packaging, but it does not give buyers the convenience or permanence many people mean when they hear the word physical. If the rumour is right, the next test is not whether Red Dead Redemption can sell again, but whether players will accept paying €34.99 for a box that mostly contains instructions for a download.