There's a Switch Pro controller hidden in Red Dead Redemption 2's texture files

(Image credit: Rockstar North)

A dataminer has found a Nintendo Switch Pro controller hidden in Red Dead Redemption 2's textures. And while it's natural to be hopeful for a Switch port, it's more likely there's another, admittedly less exciting explanation for the discovery.

The Switch proved itself capable of running massive, graphically-intensive games with the recent Witcher 3 port, which suffers considerable visual compromise but runs competently enough. And although Red Dead Redemption 2 is a newer game and a near pierless technical powerhouse, it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility that Rockstar could make a Switch port at some point. Unfortunately for now, it's more likely that Rockstar is working on bringing support for the Switch Pro controller in Red Dead Redemption 2 on Steam.

Red Dead Redemption 2 just released on PC in December, with support for Xbox One and PS4 controllers. The appearance of the Switch Pro controller in Red Dead Redemption 2's texture files seems to suggest support for the gamepad is coming to the Steam version of the game. That said, nothing's been confirmed at this point and this is all speculation.

Asked last year about the possibility of bringing Red Dead Redemption 2 to the Switch, former Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime said, "We’d love for it to be there," adding that the game's development "predated any communication of Nintendo Switch." So at least according to the beloved Fils-Aime, we aren't crazy for hoping, but it sounds like we'd be wise to temper expectations for the time being.

Eager to game on the go? Look out for these exciting upcoming Switch games for 2020 and beyond.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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