Although Rockstar Games made sure that Red Dead Redemption 2 will natively run in 4K resolution monitors, and it works great with ultrawide models too, its cutscenes and ‘Photo Mode‘ feature aren’t – which automatically adds black bars in both the right and left side of the game.
Not being able to see the game’s full potential and knowing that the company is now mainly (and officially) focused on the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 6) release, both Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online have been left in the dark, and there aren’t any announcements when it comes to new content, features, or even bug fixes.
While the game is still playable on ultrawide monitors, its cutscenes and Photo Mode are yet to get the same love, meaning that you’re left watching anything cinematic-related with black bars – and no ultrawide wallpapers for you!
So, how do you fix this problem?
Editor’s Note
Please note that the tool I am about to mention is not my own. If you choose to download and install it, you do so at your own risk and will be solely responsible for any consequences.
The solution, as always, is provided by the game’s community. Back on November 5, 2019, a user named Rose posted on PC Gaming Wiki a little free tool that fixes all of that, giving you the whole full experience.
Here’s how you can use the tool:
- Visit PC Gaming Wiki and download the tool by clicking on the “Download this file” button.
- Unzip the file by right-clicking and selecting “Extract here” (if you don’t see the option, use WinRAR).
- Once you unzip the file, you’ll be asked to add the password, which is:
pcgw
- Once you unzip the file, you’ll be asked to add the password, which is:
- Because it’s a mod, your anti-virus software will most probably detect and automatically remove it. To reset the tool, launch your anti-virus, go to the history, find the tool, and choose to keep it on your PC.
- For Microsoft Defender, just launch it, go to “Virus & threat protection“, click on the “Protection history” link, and restore
HackTool:Win32/Keygen!MSR.
- For Microsoft Defender, just launch it, go to “Virus & threat protection“, click on the “Protection history” link, and restore
- Once the tool is visible again, launch it by double-clicking on it. At first, Windows won’t let the tool launch, so click on the “More info” option and then “Run anyway“.
- Launch Red Dead Redemption 2 and start the campaign mode. Once the game has been launched and is running, launch the tool, switch back to the game, and start using it by pressing the
Fbuttons.
If you want to remove the black bars, simply click the F5 button on your keyboard. The F11 will alt the black bars toggle. With F3, you can enable or disable the FOV functions, and you can decrease the FOV with F7 or increase it with F8.
The result?
I’ve tested the tool with a 3440×1440 4K ultrawide resolution monitor with the latest version of Windows 11.
It worked great all the time, and being able to finally get some ultrawide shots made my day, week, month, and even the whole year. Who isn’t impressed with the game’s landscapes and overall graphics that wouldn’t enjoy having a 4K wallpaper after all?
Now, this tool will only work for Windows users, but if you’re enjoying Red Dead Redemption 2 on your Linux gaming beast, then you can try installing it with WINE (but I don’t know if it works).
