Red Dead Redemption 2 gets Stardew Valley-inspired free new cozy mode

Red Dead Redemption 2 isn’t what you’d consider a cozy game. Certainly, there are those of us who find comfort in the title, having spent hundreds of hours exploring its open-world; it’s not quite as wholesome though as the likes of Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing.

Well, that is until the arrival of this genius fan creation.

NexusMods user M8Tmods has introduced a brand new cozy offering that all PC players of Red Dead Redemption 2 can now download and enjoy, transforming the action RPG into a farming sim.

The mod, simply titled ‘Ranching’, allows Red Dead Redemption 2 players to add and run up to four farming businesses.

Within those, you’ll farm crops and raise livestock, selling off your wares and eventually expanding your new agricultural empire.

The mod introduces various ranches you can work at that already exist within the game or, and this is the exciting part, you can even own your own.

If you pick up a job at a pre-existing ranch, you may need to spread hay, feed chickens, plow fields, plant seeds, water seeds, or refill troughs.

M8Tmods via NexusMods

If you own a ranch, you’ll need to oversee all jobs.

Argile Rise, Ridge View Cabin, and Shepard’s Rise Cabin are the three ranches you can own, plus the familiar Beecher’s Hope.

There are plenty of different crops, meats, and other animal products you can stock.

A ranch can have up to four planting plots each holding between one and five crops, plus you can have up to four animal pens.

Stock purchases will be delivered by wagon for both crops and livestock.

This mod is a new release, but it’s already going down well with those who have picked it up.

“Very good mod,” one happy player wrote.

“Woooooow, my dreams about RDR2 realised,” another added, while someone said, “Congratulations on the amazing work.”

READ MORE: The 11 best features GTA 6 should borrow from Red Dead Redemption 2

If the cozy life isn’t for you, RDR2 boasts several action-packed fan expansions

‘Ranching’ is far from the only excellent fan project to launch in recent weeks.

While we’re positively hyped for an epic new DLC-sized offering on the way that’s set to properly take Red Dead Redemption 2 players to Mexico, there are a couple of other mods we’re enjoying in the meantime.

One such mod adds plenty of post-game content, set in an alternate timeline where all of Red Dead Redemption 2’s beloved characters meet up at Beecher’s Hope.

It introduces a companion system so regardless of who perished in the main narrative, you can grab your favourite character and head out into the open world to explore.

There’s also an excellent Mafia inspired expansion which adds plenty of new missions all of which are based upon those within the classic 2002 title.

With Rockstar Games seemingly refusing to launch a new-gen upgrade for Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s nice to see players keeping the title alive.