Red Dead Redemption 2: New Austin is a gorgeous, free map expansion

Very few games have reached critical acclaim quite like the Red Dead Redemption series from Grand Theft Auto developer, Rockstar Games and the Western sequel just got even better for free.

Red Dead Redemption 2 was originally released in 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. On the aggregate website Metacritic, the (pre)sequel earned a whopping score of 97 cementing its place as an all-time great and receiving the “Must-Play” accolade. The overwhelming response from critics and fans alike is why we are desperate for Red Dead Redemption 3, even though we know it won't arrive until after GTA VI which releases in 2025.

Check out the Red Dead Redemption trailer below!

While we patiently await the arrival of Red Dead Redemption 3 to be officially announced by Rockstar Games, modders continue to do the work of the gods by bringing us new content to the games we love and Red Dead Redemption 2 is no exception. Created by a talented team of developers, one such mod is ‘Project New Austin 1907’ and it brings locations from the original Red Dead Redemption of 2010 as well as a classic colour scheme. Best of all, it’s free to download now via Nexusmods.

‘Project New Austin 1907’: “Brings back those classic RDR1 locations and adds new life to those already in the game, making a more believable 1907 version of the map. It also includes that gritty, spaghetti-western New Austin colour scheme from the first game. All locations are complete with peds, increased rider density, and RDR1 accurate layouts with as much detail as possible.”

Some of the locations that this mod brings back are Armadillo, Blackwater, Coot’s Chapel, Critchley’s Ranch, Cueva Seca, Gaptooth Breach, MacFarlane’s Ranch, Pike’s Basin, Plainview, Venter’s Place, Warthington Ranch and more.

Unfortunately, as with the nature of most mods, ‘Project New Austin 1907’ is only available on PC. Red Dead Redemption 2 is out now and it’s backwards compatible with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.