Red Dead Redemption 2: Life Of Crime Is All Thanks To The Fans

6 days ago 16

Closeup of Arthur Morgan looking into a camera judgingly.

Published May 2, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC.

Red Dead Redemption 2, when boiled down to its essence, is a game that's all about navigating the ins and outs of the law to survive in a harsh world. Committing crimes is needed sometimes to looks after the people close to you, but there's a code and we stick to it.

A lot of that comes from the fact that we're playing as Arthur Morgan, a man with a big and impressive moral compass, but who isn't afraid to rob a train or two to feed his folks. Thinking about what the game would be like if we were playing as someone else is an interesting proposition, and one that could easily lead to us being a character that's morally much more questionable.

There are objectively bad people dotted throughout the Red Dead Franchise, and there's one mod that lets you be one of them, if you so choose.

A woman holding a shotgun in a town in Red Dead Redemption Online.

Over on Nexus Mods, you should be able to find the download page for Life of Crime, an extensive and ambitious mod that changes a ton about the game, not least who you take control of. In the mod, you make your own character from scratch, and you'll start out with nothing, earning or stealing weapons and gear along the way to outfit yourself.

As you might expect given the original character setup, it would be odd if you were to just play through the main story. Instead, you'll be completing missions that the mod adds to the game to earn your fame and fortune, and you'll be doing everything from robbing manor houses in mega heists to stealing from just about anything else you can find.

The Life of Crime mod also adds a complete skill tree that you can spec into, turning your criminal mastermind into the best of the best at whatever you choose to do. There's also a rank system for progression and an interaction menu that lets you do certain things in the world, from walking a certain way to resetting if you get stuck for any reason.

The only caveat is that there are a few conflicts listed on the download page, so make sure you don't have any of those mods installed if you plan to play.

Red Dead Redemption 2's modding community continues to breathe new life into the game with each passing day. It's a good thing too, given that we likely aren't getting another game in the series for years to come, if ever, with all of Rockstar's focus set to remain on GTA VI for a long time to come yet.