Paweł Sasko, associate game director on the next Cyberpunk game shared the news on Twitter, writing: "Never dreamt it will be possible. Over four years after the release Cyberpunk 2077 hit Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam. So thankful for your passion, memes, videos, reviews, articles, fan art, cosplay and mods. Much love my chooms!"

When Cyberpunk 2077 first launched, I'd just started my career in video game journalism. People were furious. Quests were broken, there were glitches galore, and it was certainly not the masterpiece that CD Projekt Red had promised, nor the one The Witcher 3 fans had expected.

But the developers have been hard at work for over four years fixing bugs, adding DLC, and even overhauling the entire combat and perk system for the 2.0 update. The last-gen versions were abandoned, but the current-gen versions of the game are great.

"Cyberpunk was a labor of love, and that love was cut short," writes Philipp Weber, formerly a quest designer on Cyberpunk 2077 and now the narrative director for The Witcher 4. "After all this time, I'm so happy we got the chance to fulfill our vision in the end, and I'm so thankful for the team who supports it to this day, as well as the fans who never gave up on it. Takemura would be proud!"

Cyberpunk was delayed before launch a few times, and it seems Weber is saying it was pushed out the door in a state a lot of the developers weren't happy with. Fortunately, they got time to work on it post launch, and now their effort has been recognized. 

I beat the game before the 2.0 launch, but I've since gone back and started some new playthroughs. It really is shocking how much better the game is now than it was a few years ago. Like V and Johnny with the Relic, Cyberpunk itself has been given a second chance.

If you've already had your fill of Cyberpunk 2077, check out some of the best sci-fi games you can play instead.

Night City is teeming with, as Johnny puts it, "zapper dumples and filth." Now on my third playthrough, I've long viewed this proud, lawless dystopia as an unflinching mirror of its citizens, revealing humanity's deepest flaws and vestigial saving graces in the most confrontational way possible. In typical CD Projekt Red style, there's potential to be harnessed here – for better or worse – and it's all down to the choices you make. But while CDPR has revolutionized the open-world RPG twice in a decade, arguably turning replayability into an artform, I'd not considered one very specific reading: NC is full of bad people, but maybe the whole place is V's real enemy.

The notion has me reeling, reconsidering everything from ending preference to lifepath and more through the framework of a location being the true big bad. And maybe, looking ahead to The Witcher 4, this narrative can help us glean a little more from what's to come for Ciri.

Badder lands

Upon hearing The Witcher 4's game director Sebastian Kalemba state that "the main antagonist in Cyberpunk is the city," I did what any self-respecting fan would do and started a brand new playthrough – this time as a Nomad.

Not only is it the only lifepath I'd yet to try out, it also fits perfectly with CDPR's suggestion that the city itself is out to get V. Nomad V is an outsider in every way, putting the dusty plains of the Badlands in their rear-view mirror in favor of a brand new life in a world that's totally foreign to them. But Night City doesn't exactly welcome the ex-Bakker clansman with open arms as much as an iron fist. One klepped iguana, high-speed car chase, and new buddy later – Jackie Welles, how I'll always miss you – and V's had as warm a welcome Night City has to offer.

The Nomad lifepath's intro offers an altogether more forgiving initial perspective of NC compared to that of the savvy yet jaded Streetkid's gig gone wrong or ex-Corpo V's origin story. As an outsider looking in, the Nomad has little idea of what to expect – and that naivety, that trusting human nature yet to be ground out of us, is something this city preys upon. I carry this thought with me on my urban adventure, taking in the sights and sounds as if for the first time. Roleplaying as a wide-eyed newbie, it's all too easy to fall swiftly under Night City's spell. Dirty, loud, and chaotic as it is, this place has everything, everywhere, whenever you want it – a far cry from life on the open road. There's a transformative energy about it, the potential to become something else. Why come to NC if not to reinvent yourself?

Transformation nation

But the more cruelties V encounters, the more this wonder turns to wariness. Eventually I start approaching every situation from the path of least interference, not feeling equipped with enough knowledge to make any grand, sweeping changes to a place I've yet to understand.

Liberate Clouds from the Tyger Claws and anger one of the most thuggish gangs in town? Yeah, maybe I'll just leave things to Maiko. Tell Mr Peralez that he and his wife are being watched, exploited, and mind-controlled by an unseen yet omnipotent cyberterrorist group? Not my business, sorry. With so many awful, underhanded things happening far and wide across Night City, it's suddenly easier to see how a place facilitates the faults of its inhabitants. It doesn't help that I have Johnny Silverhand yammering in my ear all about how NC runs on nothing but corporate greed, moral decay, and the commodification of humanity itself.

It all feeds into CDPR's penchant for crafting a sense of personality in some of the best open world games. But where does The Continent fit into this damning indictment of a sci-fi dystopia? Peel back the chrome, and it looks much the same. Witchering isn't all that dissimilar to being a solo, with both V and Geralt (and, soon, Ciri) taking on contracts as freelance mercs ever on the move across a vast, seemingly ungovernable space. The Continent might lack NC's skyscrapers and convenience stores, but both are feudal territories. Monarchs replace gangs in a constant fight for land, resources, and power, and there's very rarely a totally positive or negative outcome to a given decision. In many ways, Night City is just The Continent with a few more centuries tacked on. It's not hard to see how both can be cast as the villains in their own regard.

Where Geralt is a hardened monster-slayer with decades of experience under his belt, come The Witcher 4, Ciri will be much newer to the game – just like Nomad V. Sure, Ciri's not exactly a rookie, but I'm wondering if CDPR's interest in creating actively antagonistic worlds is set to persist, with The Continent pushing back even harder against the young witcher at every turn. I'll try not worry about it just yet. I'm having far too much fun trying to beat Night City at its own twisted game – and then I'll flee back to the Badlands with Panam for good.

The Witcher 4's gorgeous reveal trailer was "pre-rendered" on Nvidia's $2,000 RTX 5090

Of course, there wasn't ever supposed to be an update 2.2; CDPR made it pretty clear when 2.1 released right about a year ago that it would be its final significant update, but just this week it pulled a switcharoo and announced one more – and it's pretty beefy!

Now, you might be wondering how a studio which has largely moved on to future projects managed to find time to make another big Cyberpunk 2077 update, and well, it technically didn't. In a livestream accompanying 2.2's release, CDPR said that it tapped Virtuos Games, the studio behind the Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake, to aid in the update's development.

Per the update's official release notes, 2.2 adds an array of new customization features for your character and vehicle, new photo mode functionality, and Keanu Reeves' Johnny Silverhand as your passenger princess.

Perhaps the most notable change in update 2.2 is the ability to use the CrystalCoat vehicle customization feature to "fool the cops and lower your NCPD wanted level!" CrystalCoat can also now be used to change paint jobs on Herrera, Mizutani, Quadra, and Villefort vehicles in addition to the Rayfield vehicles. Also, if you see a car design that you like, you can now scan it using your Kiroshi optics, save it for a small fee, and apply it to any CrystalCoat-compatible vehicle.

In addition to what's already there, the character customizer now has 32 eye colors, 18 lip makeup types, 17 nail colors, 10 cheek makeup types, 16 eye makeup types, four face scars, five eyebrow shapes, four face tattoos, two body tattoos, and eight cosmetic face cyberware options. Choices!

Here's the full list of upcoming CDPR games we know about.

In a new tweet posted today on the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account, the devs confirm that tomorrow, December 10, there'll be "a new episode of REDstreams, where we'll dive deep into the new features Coming Soon TM for Cyberpunk 2077 in Update 2.2!"

But wasn't 2.1 supposed to be the last update? "Sometimes, you want to do it ONE MORE time!" CD Projekt RED says. As for what it'll include, the devs haven't said, but we do know a couple of things it won't add. 

"A lot of questions about whether PS5 Pro support and NG+ are coming with Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 2.2. The answer is no," says CD Projekt Red global community director Marcin Momot. "We do have some other cool stuff in the oven and we'll talk about it tomorrow during the stream - we hope you'll like it too! Appreciate the patience."

This surprise update is quite a shock on multiple levels, even aside from the fact that 2.1 was supposed to be the last major update. Back in May, it was confirmed that no developers at CD Projekt Red were still working on the 2020 RPG. Instead, the majority were said to be working on Project Polaris (AKA The Witcher 4), while others were busy with the new IP (Hadar), the Cyberpunk sequel (Project Orion), and other juicy stuff. Shortly after, however, the creative director of the Cyberpunk sequel said that "Cyberpunk's not dead," and, well, it seems like that was accurate.

We'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see what it's all about. The reveal stream will take place across Twitch and YouTube at 5pm CET tomorrow, which is 8am PT, 11am ET, or 4pm GMT.

While most CD Projekt Red devs are working on The Witcher 4, the RPG studio still plans to double Cyberpunk 2's team size next year.

In the company's most recent earnings presentation, it was revealed that Project Orion (better known unofficially as Cyberpunk 2) had 64 developers working on it as of October 31, 2024, while it's still incubating in the early stages of production. For context, The Witcher 4 has just entered its "full-scale production phase" with a headcount of over 400 people, so Cyberpunk 2078, or whatever it ends up being called, still has a long way to go. 

But in CDPR's earnings conference yesterday, one investor asked if the sequel's lower headcount was cause for concern. The simple answer is 'no,' as vice president of investor relations Karolina Gnas explains that the project is about to balloon. 

"We do not have any issues here apart from regular [problems] scouting for talent that is normal in Poland and in the US," Gnas says. "The current team size aligns with our needs, and we plan to further expand the size of the team next year. We actually plan to double the team by the end of the next year." That would mean more than 120 people will soon be attached to the Cyberpunk sequel a year from now, though it'll still likely be years away at that point.

Details on the sequel are otherwise light for now, but associate director Pawel Sasko did confirm that most of Cyberpunk 2077's senior developers would return to the sequel to retain the dystopian original's DNA, which is good news for anyone thirsty for more.

Keep up to date with all of the studio’s many projects with our upcoming CD Projekt Red games list. 

While sneaking through the abandoned Cynosure facility while evading a giant mech spider might not be everyone's cup of tea, my horror junkie heart was immediately in the zone. The nods to deep space terror Alien: Isolation are obvious enough, but I think CD Projekt Red deserves a huge pat on the back for delivering one of the most well-designed survival horror levels in a non-horror game ever. It just shows another one of many tricks up the developer's evidently roomy sleeves, and I'm here to gush over every last detail Somewhat Damaged has to offer.

Well, shit

I'm sure the above sentiment rang true for many of us the first time we dove to the depths of Cynosure in hot pursuit of Songbird after betraying her trust in Phantom Liberty. If losing comms with Reed isn't enough of an indicator that something ominous is afoot, the traces of Blackwall left behind by So Mi should do it. Black and red pools of code gather like blood on the floor, the walls, everywhere Songbird has touched as we chase her deeper and deeper into the facility. It's not until we come to a control room where she takes over the screens in front of us, cast in the same palette of black against vivid red lighting, that our fate is sealed.

Unpleasant, brutal, and downright dark things are peppered across the world of Cyberpunk 2077, from would-be Mayor Peralez and his wife being mind controlled to that one Bloody Ritual cyberpsycho encounter. But Somewhat Damaged is the first instance where horrific themes become the stuff of actual horror games – right down to being unable to fight back. Trapped in Cynosure, V and Songbird's presence triggers the facility to come to life again – as well as a giant, mechanical spider-like robot called Cerberus, intent on hunting down the intruder. Packing a one-hit kill attack, being seen is tatamount to instadeath.

Moments of powerlessness are few and far between, usually reserved for the odd mission where V is forced to relinquish their weapons to get into a nightclub. However, here in the presence of the newly-awakened Cerberus bot, we do have access to our weapons, quickhacks, or Sandevistans if we wish to use them. They'd just be utterly pointless, because the best thing to do here is hide from danger rather than confront it. Cerberus is a manifestation of all the techno-warnings you've heard on your Cyberpunk journey so far, the embodiment of man made technology superseding its maker and becoming a monster in itself. No amount of chrome can turn you into an impenetrable machine, after all – unless you're Lizzy Wizzy – and now, all that's left is the most human of emotions: fear.

Keep running

The total one-eighty approach to combat for the duration of this mission is what makes it such a thrilling experience. Any survival horror fan probably had the same reaction I did once they clocked what was going on: a moment of excitement, followed by muscle memory kicking in. Staying out of sight of the robot is easy enough when you remember the cardinal rule of cat-and-mouse horror games. Namely to listen up and avoid actively looking at the thing. Hugging pillars and walking around them, keeping Cerberus safely on the other side, is usually enough to keep yourself out of sight, and luckily for us in Cyberpunk, audio cues let you know how close you are to the lurking enemy – and thankfully, it's also a bit stupid.

But not only is Somewhat Damaged meant to be punishing, meant to catch us off-guard, it's also a huge telling off from the powers that be. Choices made in Phantom Liberty stand out from the rest of Cyberpunk's missions for the sheer fact that they are all so morally grey. There are no right or wrong answers in Dogtown, no pure good or pure evil – as there arguably is a lot of the time in the base game. Rather, the shades in-between are what matter the most in this warring city-state, as well as V's interpretation of them in line with their own values, beliefs, and ideals.

Somewhat Damaged jars against that ethos because it reads– to me, at least – like a clip behind the ear from CD Projekt Red. Putting players who chose Reed over So Mi through such an ordeal, stripping everything we knew about Cyberpunk away and throwing them headfirst into a horror game, it's not hard to see why it can feel like being chastised for making a categorically wrong decision. Reed represents the might of the NUSA, after all, and handing a living breathing Songbird over to President Myers results in one of the most sobering and bleak Cyberpunk 2077 endings of all. Somewhat Damaged is comeuppance, giving a betrayed So Mi one last chance to show V why they made the wrong decision. We are then offered a moment of redemption when she asks to be put out of her misery. Whether V accepts it or not is part of the horror; you and Songbird are both doomed, looking down the barrel of your own ill-fated mortalities. Have you not been through enough down here with that thing, or will you stick to your guns and put your faith in the NUSA?

Now on my second Cyberpunk playthrough – yes, back to back – I'm already kind of sad I won't get to play Somewhat Damaged this time around. Much as I'm grateful to have experienced it that first time, I hear CDPR's message loud and clear. I'll do better by Songbird now, promise – just don't sic Cerberus on me. That being said, if the developer ever fancies throwing us horror fans another bone in Cyberpunk sequel Project Orion (or a brand new IP), I have every confidence it'll pull things off effortlessly.

Check out more of the best RPGs to play next, from The Witcher 3 to Baldur's Gate 3

Speaking to Eurogamer, CD Projekt joint CEO Michał Nowakowski doesn't mince words when it comes to admitting just how disastrous Cyberpunk 2077's launch was for the company, noting that the perception of it from before that fateful release is something "we've probably lost forever," even if "you can repair some things" to an extent. He adds: "It's a certain perception of the company that's never going to come back. Is that good or bad? I don't know, but it's a fact."

Associate game director of the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, Paweł Sasko, adds that getting players back on board "might be a situation that never happens for some," and "that's unfortunately the price we have to pay for what happened." Even so, however, he seems to be remaining optimistic about the future. 

"I hope that, throughout the work that we are doing, throughout the things we are showing, we can actually win some of those people around – and when they hear someone talking to them about the incredible experiences they can have in, let's say Phantom Liberty, or the next Witcher, next Cyberpunk, or next Hadar [CD Projekt's new IP], at the moment when they see there's that incredible value in that game, they will actually reach out for it, play it and enjoy it," Sasko continues, adding that there's ultimately "nothing we can say to convince anyone," but "There's just a moment when we need to show up."

Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty DLC was received far more positively than the base RPG initially was, so we'll just have to hope that CD Projekt Red can keep it up for those upcoming releases. We still don't know right now when we can expect the Cyberpunk sequel, new Witcher game, or totally fresh IP to release, but I'm sure that fans everywhere can agree that the devs should take all the time they need to make them as good as they can be.

Be sure to check out our roundup of upcoming CD Projekt Red games to see everything the Polish studio has in the works. 

Last week, modder Jackexe shared a mod that essentially turns Cyberpunk 2077 into indie favorite Superhot. The short version is that time only moves when you do, and how quickly it moves is also dependent on how quickly you move. It's a fun way to add something extra to your playthrough as you slow down time to consider your next move.

The mod itself is neat, though what's also neat is that Cyberpunk 2077 nearly got a mission that did just that. Reacting to the project itself, CD Projekt Red veteran Philipp Weber says the team briefly workshopped a quest with similar mechanics early into Cyberpunk 2077's development.

"You became a construct, essentially able to do millions of things at once, and this is how we simulated the full quest only taking a few seconds in 'real-time,'" he says. "Now someone did it!"

Replying to a fan asking how many hours of cut content we're looking at for Cyberpunk 2077 now, Weber says it's "difficult to say."

"Quite a few of actually playable content," he says. "But overall that's difficult to say. Some design ideas for features like the one above were cut even before we implemented them. Since it was a fresh project with lots of experimentation, that happened a lot."

Sadly, the ship has essentially sailed with Cyberpunk 2077, but hey, maybe we'll get some Superhot goodness in the Cyberpunk sequel. We recently heard that CDPR's next Cyberpunk 'em up will "double the headcount" at its studio as it nears the end of its research phase.

CDPR vet reflects on a classic RPG problem: The stats-over-fashion "clown meta" in Cyberpunk 2077, which lots of players hated but almost nobody knew how to fix.

Yesterday, CD Projekt Red studio leadership held a briefing to discuss its financials for the past few months, as well as make comments on its immediate future. Chiefly, CD Projekt chief financial officer Piotr Nielubowicz revealed that The Witcher 4 has made "substantial progress" over the year so far, and will soon be advancing to the full production phase.

Elsewhere though, Nielubowicz and CD Projekt joint-chief engineering officer Michal Nowakowski made comments during a Q&A session with investors. Nielubowicz firstly mentions that Cyberpunk 2077's sequel, which is codenamed 'Orion,' is "close to moving from the research phase to the development phase," so it's similarly in pre-production like The Witcher 4.

Nowakowski, meanwhile, said CD Projekt "expect future growth also next year" with Orion. "And Orion that was presented on one of the slides right now, is around 60 people, and we believe over the course of next year it should probably double the headcount," Nowakowski added, signalling CD Projekt's Boston studio will be staffing up for the sequel's development.

Earlier this year in April, CD Projekt revealed that the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel was still in the "fairly early stages" of development. The company's Boston studio, which is heading up development of the sequel, is also retaining senior developers of the original game, like Paweł Sasko, who worked on Phantom Liberty as quest director, and will now operate as an associate game director on Cyberpunk 2077's sequel.

Take a look at our upcoming CD Projekt Red games guide for a full overview of how the developer's many projects are coming along.

"Players, in most cases, can quite well say 'what I don't like' [...], but they often won't be able to tell you exactly how to fix it," said CD Projekt Red associate game director Pawel Sasko on a recent episode of Flow Games, a Brazilian podcast. "Great example, I think, it's the one that always makes me laugh: the clown fiesta in Cyberpunk 2077. You know, the clown meta.

"Because of the fact that clothing had armor assigned to it, then, suddenly, you run around with, like, pink boots and a bra, and high heels in a cowboy hat, because that has the biggest armor," Sasko continued. "That simple decision to tie up the armor with the clothing [...] led to the creation of the clown meta, that everyone looked like…just, ridiculous." 

Before 2023's Cyberpunk 2077 patch 2.0, which reduced clothing mostly to cosmetics by linking armor to cyberware upgrades instead, players were frustrated by situations that made them realize their booty shorts had better stats than their glitter pants.

"People kept saying that [...] they want to wear what they want to wear. For me, that's an actual problem. But, then, the solutions that players were bringing up were really varied," Sasko said. So, in addressing concerns, Sasko said he focused on what players wanted to change rather than how they preferred to change it.

"I would say probably 80 percent, maybe more [of Cyberpunk 2077 updates] were literally coming from players' feedback," Sasko said. "It's very hard to defend the opinion that developers don't look at players' feedback in the case of Cyberpunk." 

Cyberpunk 2077 isn't what it used to be - you need the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty guide to surviving Dogtown.

Speaking on the Flow Games podcast, Cyberpunk 2077 quest lead Pawel Sasko, who is now associate game director on the game's sequel, said that he, like many more senior devs, had questioned whether he wanted to stay on at CD Projekt Red for another game.

"When you work in one company for a long time," he said, "there's always this moment where your career is kind of in the crossroads, and you're thinking 'should I enter another really big project with this company, or should I look for somewhere else to maybe learn new things?'"

Sasko makes clear that he was never seriously considering leaving - "I love this company too much" - but he asked himself that same question. That, however, was before he was asked to move to the USA to help set up CD Projekt Red's new Boston studio and lead work on Cyberpunk 2. It seems like a no brainer - "you are given a chance of starting something new, but you're still in the same company" - but before he was offered the chance, it wasn't entirely clear to Sasko that he was about to get good news.

You can see Sasko tell the story for himself in the timestamped video above, but the gist of it is this: Sasko was invited to a regular one-to-one meeting by his boss, Cyberpunk 2077 game director Gabe Amatangelo. Just ahead of that meeting, Sasko says that Amatangelo messaged him not once, but twice, assuring he'd be attending the meeting in-person in CDPR's Warsaw office. "That was a strange request," Sasko explains.

"So I got ready, went to the office, walked in the office, and there's the game director, who's my boss, the CEO, who's his boss, sitting there. The two most important people in the company. And I'm thinking 'Am I getting fired? Is this what's happening? What are those guys doing here?'" Thankfully, Sasko wasn't getting fired, as this was the meeting were Amatangelo and CDPR CEO Adam Badowski asked him if he'd like to move to Boston to establish the new studio. That offer, he says, remains "very humbling" - and thankfully, the project itself "feels fresh" enough to keep Sasko devoted to CDPR.

Keep an eye on all things CDPR with our list of upcoming CD Projekt Red games.

Whenever I think about Cyberpunk 2077, the first thing that comes to mind is Jackie Welles, the smooth-talking merc with a heart of gold who accompanies protagonist V through the beginning of his journey. As a Mexican-American, he's one of a handful of Hispanic characters in video games who stands out because he respectfully portrays the culture he belongs to. He embodies a lot of key values, such as respecting your elders, and is always willing to listen. Unfortunately, Jackie meets an untimely end in the back of a taxi, bleeding out next to V after their overly-ambitious heist at Arasaka Tower goes wrong. 

His death shakes V to the core, but it wasn't always meant to be this way. Speaking to GamesRadar+, lead story writer Tomasz Marchewka reveals that although CD Projekt Red was "100%” set on his Mexican-American heritage, his friendship with V was once on the rocks.  "I remember one iteration in which Jackie was an antagonist of sorts over the first act of the game," says Marchewka. "He had the same goals as V, but different motivations, and during the big heist, he was trying to trick V and finish the job on his own." 

Big dreams

In the end, the studio wanted Jackie to be a Mexican-American who was "loyal, honorable, and respectful of traditional values more than anything else”. In other words, it's the polar opposite of your standard Night City merc. Though Jackie is defined by his deep roots in Hispanic culture, none of the writers who helped create him were Hispanic. To combat this, the team relied on Mexican producer Eloy Gerardo Montemayor Ramos, who helped as a consultant. “His insight helped us a lot to make sure that we were heading in the right direction," says Marchewka.

Ramos' influence on Jackie's character made him more authentic, not only in how he carries his values but also in the way he speaks Spanglish (a mixture of Spanish and English). Having Jackie confidently switch between the two languages shows players that the world of Cyberpunk is "a multicultural one," as it allows players to see that V's cyberware was easily able to translate what Jackie was saying into a language anyone could understand. Even this was debated – CDPR went back and forth on whether Jackie should only speak Spanish, but ultimately didn’t want it to break his “flow of dialogue” with V.

Though Jackie wasn't a character I spent a lot of time with, he had a lasting impact on me. He's still someone I think about today, primarily because I don't see much Hispanic representation in video games. More often than not, they're displayed in stereotypical ways that aren't helpful to the community at large. Just look at the Grand Theft Auto series, which portrays the majority of Hispanic characters as drug dealers.

Although there are a lot of great Jackie moments, the one that completely sold me on him was during V's toast "to this," a dialogue option that can only be chosen through the stuffy Corpo route. Jackie's response perfectly embodies a lot of Hispanic core values: "You raise a glass to your mama, your hermana. To the mamacita, you'll meet at the bar,” he says. “But 'this' doesn't say a damn thing." Even though it's a simple joke line, it has so much meaning and perfectly embodies the core values of Hispanic culture.

With his charisma and disarming loyalty, the developer knew Jackie would be a fan favorite. At one point, the game’s writers even considered sparing him from his grisly fate. “While working on the first act of Cyberpunk 2077, we considered different versions of the biochip story,” shares Marchewka. “In some of them Jackie died, in others, he managed to survive – although with grave consequences. The final decision was a very complex one [driven by] our desire to close our Act 1 properly.”

“Our idea was to start Cyberpunk 2077 off like a typical Cyberpunk 2020 [TTRPG] adventure,” Marchewka continues. “A group of mercenaries sets out to accomplish a bombastic job way above their level, hoping to hit it out of the ballpark, and it ends with the main character losing pretty much everything. We wanted to convey that it’s not 2020 [the TTRPG’s setting] anymore, and it’s not about having a good time with your crew like it would be during an old-school RPG setting. For that to work, Jackie had to die.” 

Jackie’s death was ultimately unavoidable, but he lived on in more ways than one, whether that’s through V’s in-game memories or his impact on players. The Hispanic representation seen through Jackie's character in Cyberpunk 2077 was accurate and respectful, and I hope to see more games do this in the future.

Returning to Night City? These Cyberpunk 2077 tips will help keep you alive 

As the name suggests, CyberpunkMP will allow you to experience Night City alongside other players for the first time. The RPG's developer, CD Projekt Red, once had a whole standalone multiplayer experience in the works for Cyberpunk, but it eventually decided to "reconsider", even if multiplayer elements are being contemplated for the sequel. However, modder s1nger clearly never gave up on the idea, with their latest video showcasing a test of the mod that reveals some really promising gameplay. 

To be clear, the mod isn't planned to support co-op, so you won't be able to run around completing story missions alongside friends. However, that doesn't mean you won't be able to explore Night City together, as it'll allow players to make their own servers and then seemingly use the world like a futuristic sandbox. For example, the creator has already showcased PvP death matches, allowing players to use their Perks and battle it out against others, as well as huge races across the city. For the latter, mod testers were able to spawn in the vehicles they wanted and then take to the streets, overtaking other players or taking a more aggressive approach by just crashing into them to knock them out of the race.

Plenty of new details were revealed in a new video by content creator JuiceHead, who took part in one of the tests for a slightly older version of the mod. JuiceHead was able to join a server with "10 to 20 other people," and noted that it worked "shockingly well," even on the older build. It's not clear if that 20-player limit might eventually get increased, but even at that, it's an impressive number of people to be able to experience Cyberpunk 2077 with at the same time.

One of the prevalent problems that the mod had until recently – which was pointed out by JuiceHead – was its lack of animations for fellow players. Although from a first-person perspective, you could see yourself moving around as normal, other players just appeared to slide around like strange, stiff action figures. In s1nger's most recent update video, however, we can see that these have been added in, which makes an enormous difference to the overall polish. The creator still hopes to improve these further, though. 

While updates on the mod's development progress have been distributed in the creator's Discord server since September 2021, s1nger still hasn't given any indication as to when it's expected to release. According to the modder, CyberpunkMP is still in a pre-alpha state, and for now, they're working on making the multiplayer itself more stable. Hopefully though, it'll be worth the wait, and might be able to give us all a different way to experience CD Projekt Red's RPG.

Cyberpunk 2077 sequel director cites Baldur's Gate 2 as his biggest inspiration, with "five or six" playthroughs totaling 1,500 hours under his belt.

As I shoulder-chuck my way through the packed streets of Night City, catching alarming eyefuls of butt cheeks squeezed into metallic hotpants and green mohawks aplenty, I'm struck by a sense of overwhelming muchness. Even now at a paltry ten in-games hours, I feel I barely understand how the game wants me to play it. Cyberpunk is making me re-evaluate my expectations of the best RPGs and how the genre delivers on them, primarily when it comes to gradual rollout of upgrade systems, skill trees, and the different builds they promise. If Cyberpunk represents the next generation of role-playing games, I feel I'm in for a rude (yet thrilling) awakening.

Preem-adonna girl

It's been a good few years since I played a CD Projekt Red game in full, but somehow, I was still expecting Cyberpunk 2077 to hold flavors of The Witcher 3. One of my favorite things about Geralt's third adventure is the evolution of The Continent as a map and setting, expanding in manageable, level-restricted swathes as you conquer its every nook and cranny. Cyberpunk is nothing like The Witcher, and I'm kind of mourning that fact.

That feels like a pointless comment. Based on a tabletop RPG from 1988, Cyberpunk 2077 is a first-person action-adventure set in a technicolor, neo-futuristic, cosmopolitan playground – which is about as far as you can get from the thatched cottages of Novigrad. But aesthetics and gameplay totally aside, the method and process of storytelling is what feels the most distinct. 

The Witcher starts you off in a tutorial town of sorts, with White Orchard proving the perfect training ground for the swashbuckling, high-fantasy adventures ahead. Similar things can be said of Dragon's Dogma 2's early game areas, or the sandbox-esque exploratory feel of Baldur's Gate 3's entire first act. These warmup zones allow players to flex their muscles and experiment in a strange new world, all while grappling with RPG mechanics of varying levels of complexity. Conversely, I enter Night City feeling like I'm supposed to know my way around these parts like the back of my cybernetic hand already. 

I'm no stranger to being pushed off the deep end – I've played Elden Ring, after all – but this is no FromSoftware game and I am not a Souls veteran. Why does everything in Cyberpunk 2077 feel like so much, so soon?

Hacked to the future 

Perhaps it's the long development tail that Cyberpunk 2077 has trailing behind it, but the game doesn't feel aware of how overwhelming it can be. Having undergone a series of reworks, bug fixes, and moderate to extreme mechanical changes since its initial 2020 launch, it's understandable that maybe the finer details have been glossed over, with the expectation that returning players will simply fall back in line and be grateful for the fixes. But playing Cyberpunk for the first time in 2024, the myriad differences to the expected size, scope, and feel of an RPG so early on in its runtime feels all the more glaring. 

The fact that the game stayed in development for three years post-launch is no doubt part of what makes Cyberpunk feel so mechanically broad. CDPR constantly reshaped the beast after a disappointing launch, apologizing and doing housekeeping in equal measures. But this highlights questions on the viability of post-release tinkering versus developers just waiting until a game is finished to begin with. The latter has become unfortunately common in recent years, but CDPR has found a way to benefit from its developmental snags. Given all the work that's been done on it since 2020, it's hard not to view last year's Phantom Liberty DLC as the moment Cyberpunk fully exited a period of pseudo-Early Access. As the studio calls time on Cyberpunk with its last major update, we're presented with the final product – bizarre and unwieldy as it may be to newcomers like me.

Are these the markers of the RPGs of the future? As jarring as this would be to grapple with, I am glad of CDPR's commitment to all-out novelty while taking ownership of its pitfalls, making good on promises of greatness that once fell flat. Cyberpunk clearly shows that RPGs as a genre have a clear path ahead in terms of what can be innovated, adjusted, or simply thrown out of the window with a crashing thud in the name of progress. CDPR has a knack for crafting RPG mechanics that reflect the style and tone of the world in question. Geralt's mutagens are here swapped out for cyberware, allowing for detailed physiological builds to work in tandem with your chosen playstyle, which in turn is dictated by how you've invested into various skill and ability trees. I'm told that cyberware has been remodeled to represent your armor stats, too, leaving clothing items as purely cosmetic. And that's about all I understand at the moment.

Cyberpunk's approach to the RPG is as daunting as it is daring, and I can't help but respect it for that. Instead of piecemeal introductions, I get bulk. Instead of systems being withheld until they are properly explained, I'm free to puzzle through them at my leisure. It all feeds into the staggering newness of Cyberpunk as a game – not least as the first recognizably modern city-based RPG I've ever played, but as an RPG that refuses to hold your hand for pretty much any of it, leading us into a complex new future for the genre itself – even if it assumes a little too much innate knowledge on my part.

There are a host of upcoming CD Projekt Red games to get hyped for now that Cyberpunk 2077 is finally finished

When asked about his most-played game of all time in an interview clip with PC Gamer, CD Projekt Red game director Pawel Sasko cites Baldur's Gate 2 as the RPG that kickstarted his interest in development since he's finished the game to completion about "five or six times altogether from scratch with multiple characters, multiple ways."

"I love Baldur's Gate 1 and 2," Sasko says. "It was the game that really made me want to get into game dev and really make my own games." Sasko goes on to do some mental maths, calculating that if "one playthrough was like 300 hours" and he did "like five or six altogether," then his overall playtime would probably surpass a whopping 1,500 hours. 

How Long To Beat - the website that estimates, y'know, how long it takes to beat a game - guesses that an average Baldur's Gate 2: Enhanced Edition playthrough could take anywhere from 45 hours, if you're just focusing on main story stuff, to 150 hours for a completionist run. Sasko's estimated playtime doubles the average player's completionist route, so I guess he really, really takes his time clicking around.

Details on the Cyberpunk sequel are still relatively light, but we do know that the project is retaining most of the first game's senior developers to "preserve" the RPG's DNA. Baldur's Gate 2 will probably also have some invisible influences on Cyberpunk 2, but for those of you who like your RPGs of the isometric, fantasy variety, D&D owner Hasbro says it's already taking the next steps to move toward a Baldur's Gate 4.

In other news, Baldur’s Gate 3 has hit its lowest-ever price thanks to Steam Summer Sale in case you needed another reason to play last year’s best RPG.

CD Projekt Red developers worked on the game for years after release, pushing out patches to rectify 2077's buggy launch while also hammering away at the excellent Phantom Liberty expansion and 2.0 update. With Cyberpunk 2077 fully fixed and widely enjoyed, CD Projekt Red recently announced that 0 developers were on the project for the first time since its inception.

Alongside the company's latest financial results, CD Projekt Red detailed how its workforce was distributed with "over 400" developers working on The Witcher 4 (codenamed Polaris), 39 employees on Witcher spin-off Sirius, 20 on another standalone IP codenamed Hadar, and none on 2077 as of April 30, 2024.

Igor Sarzynski - 2077's narrative lead and the sequel's creative director - quickly took to social media to note that "Cyberpunk's not dead" even if the first game has now ended development. CDPR has big plans to continue the series with an upcoming Cyberpunk 2, only officially known by its codename Orion, which currently has 56 developers working on it.

With the majority of the studio molding another Witcher trilogy, details on the next romp through Night City are light, but fans can rest assured that Cyberpunk 2 is keeping most of the first game's senior developers to "preserve" the series' DNA while aiming to avoid the turbulent development that steered 2077's launch off-course. 

Be sure to check out our recommendations for the 10 best games like Cyberpunk 2077 for more neon-soaked vibes. 

In an interview with GamesRadar+ at the Digital Dragons conference in Poland, Phantom Liberty quest designer Maria Mazur says "I feel like there are so many easter eggs" crammed into Cyberpunk 2077, and that she's still "just waiting for people to find them all." 

One of those discoveries came relatively recently when Mazur says she finally noticed that someone had discovered an incidental line in one of the sequences she designed for the expansion: "Someone drove the main character into the ocean. And I actually had this secured just in case - I weaved in a scenario with dialog and stuff. So I was happy to see that someone actually did that."

"I think those moments are kind of precious. When you're trying to anticipate someone's actions, and you're leaving this little surprise for someone, and then finally, years later, you can see that they actually found it."

However precious those moments might be, however, Mazur thinks that there are still a lot of them to find across CD Projekt Red's recent games. Asked if there are still discoveries to be made, Mazur says, "There are many things in Night City," and that she has many of her own references and easter eggs that she's not seen pointed out. Multiply that by the total number of designers that worked on the game, and you get a sense of how many secrets are still out there.

Mazur's design work is limited to Cyberpunk 2077, but she says that there's "probably" still a large number of things left to find in The Witcher 3 as well. That's not her area of expertise, however, as she's working on Project Hadar, CDPR's new IP that she says "only makes sense" as a future project for the company.

Get a full list of what to expect with these upcoming CD Projekt Red games.

Taking a look at Cyberpunk 2077 now on Steam paints a very different picture of the game it was in 2020. The action-RPG has now an aggregate of 'Overwhelmingly Positive' among recent player reviews, which means 95% of reviews left by player in the last 30 days were positive. As it happens, there have been 6,913 player reviews in the last 30 days.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" wrote CD Projekt community manager Marcin Momot on Twitter when announcing the news. "You can't imagine how much it means to me, I have never been close to giving up and always believed this could be somehow possible, but never thought I will actually see it. Thank you so much for the second chance chooms," wrote quest director Pawel Sasko on Twitter.

"At this point in time the game is better than ever, definitely worth a few playthroughs," reads one recent review after more than 125 hours on the clock. "The combat is amazing. The story is top notch. The art direction is stunning. The VAs are all top notch, and the forced first person perspective means you LIVE as V. Whatever you have heard about the problems this game launched with, they have been fixed and oh so much more," adds another recent player review.

It might have been a pretty disastrous launch for CD Projekt back in 2020, if we're being honest, but the developer has genuinely turned things around for Cyberpunk 2077 over three years later. For his part, CD Projekt's joint-CEO recently said he was "finally happy" with the RPG, which perhaps marks the end of the road to redemption for Cyberpunk 2077 that began in late 2020.

It's worth noting that Cyberpunk 2077's overall user review score is sitting at 'Very Positive' right now, after 650,651 user review have given the game a positive rating since launch. Cyberpunk 2077 would need 95% of its total player reviews to be positive for its overall rating to be upgraded to 'Overwhelmingly Positive,' but it looks like CD Projekt is already happy.

Cyberpunk 2077's open world posed a "significant challenge" for CD Projekt RED when it came to "adjusting to the scale and characteristics of American settings."

Night City is set in California, and as such, is very much an American location, even if it doesn't exactly match up with any real cities that actually exist in our current time. Speaking about the creation of the location in issue 40 of PLAY magazine, CD Projekt RED senior environment artist Krzysztof Kornatka explains: "Since most of the team comes from Europe, a significant challenge was adjusting to the scale and characteristics of American settings."

Despite being part of California, it wasn't just America that inspired Night City. "We also drew inspiration from the layout of Japanese streets, especially how advertising is used there," Kornatka says. Beyond that, a number of different movies also fed into Kornatka's own ideas: "I don't think I'll surprise anyone by saying that superbly crafted worlds in movies like Blade Runner, Johnny Mnemonic, Judge Dredd, The Fifth Element, or Akira have all served as inspiration for me," the environment artist adds.

Ultimately, the goal with Night City was "to create a believable anti-utopian city," but one that's divided up into such distinct regions that players always know where they are. Of course, having that world be interesting enough to explore – regardless of how pretty it looks – with events to pull players into places they might not have ventured otherwise was also very important.

"I can create a very intriguing world with beautifully composed views, interesting architecture, and perfectly designed level layouts, but what am I supposed to do in that world once I've seen everything[?]" Kornatka posits. "Probably, few would even see everything if not for those events that act like a magnet, pulling players into previously undisclosed alleys."

In other Cyberpunk 2077 news, last month, CD Projekt's chief strategy officer Adam Kiciński said that the company is "finally happy" with the RPG and its DLC. It's been a long time coming for the studio, given that the base game first released in late 2020, but it's undeniable that over three years later, it's in a very different place than it once was. 

Be sure to check out our list of 10 games like Cyberpunk 2077 for more titles like CD Projekt Red's futuristic RPG.  

Cyberpunk 2077 ending choices explained

The Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty story has four different endings, each primarily affecting V, Songbird (So Mi), and Reed. Two of the endings share the same outcome, but are reached in very different ways. It’s also hard to argue there’s a best ending in Phantom Liberty as at least one character ends up horrendously worse off in e ery option. So it's more about who suffers least or who you hate the most.

The Phantom Liberty ending you get is based on the choice you make when helping Songbird extract the Neural Matrix in Kurt Hansen’s Dogtown stadium base, and how you act for the subsequent final choice a few missions later. The Neural Matrix choice causes a massive divergence in gameplay too - choosing to help Songbird with her escape plan leads to you both going on the run, while stalling for time to help Reed causes Songbird to go full-on cyberpsycho, eventually ending up in MaxTac’s custody.

If you helped Songbird, your available options for the final decision are: call Reed and agree to the deal or kill Reed in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty to let Songbird escape. However, if you helped Reed, your options are: kill or spare Songbird in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty. Here’s what happens in each of the final outcomes for all those choices in Phantom Liberty.

Cure Songbird Phantom Liberty ending

Choices: Help Songbird escape + Kill Reed

To get this ending that helps Songbird, you must help her escape the Stadium. This means you betray Reed and the FIA, and Reed tells you that he will hunt you down. A severely weakened Songbird eventually contacts you to lay out an escape plan – she needs to get to a clinic on the Moon to get you both cured using the Neural Matrix, though the only way to get there is through the Night City spaceport.

You'll then infiltrate the spaceport terminal with the help of a dying Songbird, though things go awry when President Myers and Reed arrive at the base searching for you both. You'll battle your way through the terminal, with Songbird providing you with some of the Blackwall’s power, and eventually board the train leading to the Moon rocket.

However, during the journey So Mi reveals that she has betrayed you because only one person can be cured using the Neural Matrix, as it will disintegrate after being used. You carry Songbird out to the rocket shuttle pod where Reed emerges for a final confrontation. This ends with you shooting Reed in the head if you refuse to let him take her after putting her on the floor.

After killing Reed, you put Songbird on the rocket to the Moon, leaving V in the same position as they were at the start of Phantom Liberty – Johnny Silverhand and the Relic are still in their head, and they are still dying. You’ve proven yourself to be a traitorous FIA agent, Reed is dead, and it’s not clear if Songbird gets cured of her Blackwall corruption. Even if she is cured, is she free from the FIA and President Myers too?

Agree to Reed's deal Phantom Liberty ending

Choices: Help Songbird escape + agree to Reed's deal

As before, you go on the run with Songbird and then infiltrate the spaceport, battle your way through, and learn of Songbird’s betrayal while on the train. Following Johnny’s suggestion, you call Reed to inform him of So Mi’s betrayal and strike a deal – you give up Songbird and the NUSA will give you the Neural Matrix cure. You can also strike the deal while talking to Reed out by the rocket.

However you end up agreeing to Reed’s deal, he takes So Mi and gets picked up by NUSA forces, leaving you to your own devices. After the credits roll, you’ll have a brief heart-to-heart with Johnny about Songbird and how he almost feels sorry for her. Soon after, you’ll be contacted by Reed and have the option to pursue the new Cyberpunk 2077 ending. This leads to a chat with Reed at a gas station as he is driving out of Night City, and you’ll eventually be able to get cured of the Relic.

Kill Songbird Phantom Liberty ending

Choices: Help Reed capture Songbird + Kill Songbird

To get this Phantom Liberty ending, you need to stall for time when extracting the Neural Matrix with Songbird to help Reed capture her. Unfortunately, this backfires spectacularly as Songbird immediately realises something is amiss. Kurt Hansen kills Alex, and the ICEbreaker device fails to knock out Songbird. Instead, she is almost entirely taken over by the Blackwall corruption and goes on a cyberpsycho rampage through Dogtown.

After you kill Hansen, Reed picks you up and you both see Songbird get captured by MaxTac. One failed prison convoy ambush later, you chase So Mi down into the Cynosure bunker under Dogtown. As you navigate the facility, a corrupted Cerberus guard robot hunts you, but you eventually get inside the Cynosure core to reach Songbird. You find her on the brink of death, begging for you to let her die since she is too far gone with Blackwall corruption. Reed arrives shortly after you unplug So Mi from the core and the two of you take her body.

Smash cut to a tense car ride with Reed, you deliver Songbird’s body to President Myers, who is pretty unhappy that you failed your mission to bring her in alive. As such, you get no help with the Relic. After the credits, you can agree to meet Reed at the Dogtown basketball court for a debrief. He tells you that you failed as an FIA-associated agent and that he blames you for his dead friends and ruined work relationships. However, he admits that killing Songbird probably was the right thing to do and is thankful that he can now live a more peaceful life working an FIA desk job with nothing to lose.

Spare Songbird Phantom Liberty ending

Choices: Help Reed capture Songbird + Spare Songbird

This Phantom Liberty ending also requires you to stall for time to help Reed capture Songbird. You escape the stadium, set up the convoy ambush, then delve into the Cynosure bunker to eventually reach Songbird in the core.

Reed arrives shortly after you spare So Mi, though she says you’ve left her to a fate worse than death by not letting her die. You and Reed take Songbird to President Myers, who is thankful for your help and offers you a medal for your services to the FIA.

Again, you can meet Reed at the basketball court for a debrief where he tells you that So Mi could not be cured using the Neural Matrix due to her extreme Blackwall corruption but will live thanks to some advanced surgery at the cost of her old personality. Luckily, the Neural Matrix is being saved for you, allowing you to get the new Relic cure ending for the game’s main story.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Earlier this week, on March 22, CD Projekt announced the new initiative for Cyberpunk 2077 with Nvidia at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco. Path tracing overhauls lighting in game scenes and is used by visual effects artists in film and TV.

Nvidia is billing path tracing as "indistinguishable" from reality. "This not only gives better visuals to the players but also has the promise to revolutionize the entire pipeline of how games are being created," says Nvidia senior technology developer engineer Pawel Kozlowski.

This will all be available in Cyberpunk 2077's "Overdrive Mode" exclusively for PC, beginning on April 11. Nvidia writes that it wasn't until the GeForce RTX 40 series and DLSS 3 that path tracing was available in real-time for games, which gives you a pretty good idea of what you'll need to run the new mode.

This is basically the first step in a big new phase for path tracing at large. Nvidia says Overdrive Mode offers a "sneak peek into the future of full ray tracing," which certainly sounds like the company has bigger plans for the mode in other games shortly.

This is a big new phase not just for Cyberpunk 2077, but for video games in general. The promise of moving lighting sources closer to that of TV and films is certainly an exciting prospect, but it remains to be seen just how well it'll run in Cyberpunk 2077, a game that's no stranger to technical mishaps. 

Check out our upcoming PC games guide for a look at all the forthcoming games that you put your rig to work on.

Earlier this week, a Cyberpunk 2077 player claimed knowledge of several new quests in the forthcoming Phantom Liberty expansion. The player in question claimed that one mission of the new DLC features the Crystal Palace, a giant spacefaring casino alluded to in the main game and seen in one of its endings, and the return of Falco, one of the few surviving characters from the excellent Cyberpunk 2077 anime spin-off, Edgerunners.

However, CD Projekt Red PR lead Adam Grabowski has now called this leak out as false. Writing via his personal Twitter account, Grabowski has responded to a report chronicling the leak, stating decisively that none of the aforementioned leaked content was in the Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion.

Unfortunately, then, we won’t be heading to a giant casino in space around Earth (or, fortunately, depending on how you look at it). It seems like Falco also won’t be making his grand debut in Cyberpunk 2077 either, which is sure to come as a bit of sad news to the legions of Edgerunners fans out there.

What we do know is that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will star Idris Elba as a new character, and will see V working with the US government. It’ll also be a paid expansion, just in case you were desperately hoping CD Projekt might offer out the new DLC as a free bonus to veterans who’ve stuck around.

There’s still ultimately a lot we don’t know about the expansion, though, which is likely why this leak has been picked up on and reported by outlets like Forbes. Here’s hoping CD Projekt Red gives Cyberpunk 2077 fans more news about the upcoming DLC at some point shortly.

Check out our upcoming CD Projekt Red games guide for a full look at all the spinning plates the developer is currently juggling. 

Over the weekend, anime streaming platform Crunchyroll hosted its annual The Anime Awards ceremony in Tokyo, and with so many excellent shows out this year, fans were spoiled for choice with which one to vote for. One anime that seemingly stood above all the others though is Cyberpunk 2077 spin-off series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. 

Not only did Cyberpunk: Edgerunners claim the title of Anime of the Year, but it was also nominated for several other categories including Best Character Design, Best Animation, Best New Series, Best Opening Sequence, Best Score, Best Director, Best VA Performance (English) - which it also won thanks to Zach Aguilar as David Martinez - and many more. 

What's even more impressive about this win is that Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was up against some pretty heavy hitters from this year including Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, SPY x FAMILY, and a few others. Edgerunners was produced in collaboration with Japanese animation studio Trigger and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt for Netflix. Despite its popularity though, "there's no such thing" as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 right now.

Following the win, the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Twitter account published a tweet that reads: "It's a great honor! We'd like to thank everyone for their support, votes, and for watching our anime." Executive producer and showrunner of the anime, Rafal Jaki, also shared their joy about winning the award by simply tweeting: "Fucking hell we won!!!!"

Fans have also been equally ecstatic by sharing their congratulations to the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners team over on the show's dedicated subreddit. "It's insane how many absolute 10/10 shows dropped last year so it was probably the toughest category to win. Deserved though," one comment below the post linked above reads. "It managed to get more votes than [Attack on Titan] and [Demon Slayer]! That's how much this anime moved a lot of people," another comment adds.

"This was just like Elden Ring snatching GotY out of pretty much everyone's hands," another user explained - referring to Elden Ring's multiple Game of the Year wins last year against other great 2022 releases such as God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Stray, and more.   

Looking for something new to watch? Take a look at our best anime list to find out what you should be watching in 2023. 

While the array of technical issues plaguing Cyberpunk 2077 dominated discussion when the game launched in 2020, there were many who found its narrative underwhelming due to its linearity and lack of player-driven decisions. 

In a recent livestream (via Twinfinite), Sasko addressed the criticism the game received for being too linear, saying, "players expected more." He points out that the way quests are managed in Cyberpunk 2077 means that no two playthroughs will be the same. "There's so much randomization inside that system that it's not possible to have identical playthroughs," he says. 

But while dialogue and story elements can differ depending on your choices, it's mainly on a smaller scale, and according to Sasko, players were expecting more based on how big and branching CD Projekt Red's previous title, The Witcher 3, is. "Cyberpunk has an insane amount of nonlinearity, but I think the expectations were higher."

The below video and text contains spoilers for Cyberpunk 2077, so avert your eyes now if you've not yet taken a trip to Night City.

quest_director_pawel_sasko_on_choices_and from r/cyberpunkgame

Also part of the problem, as Sasko sees it, is that when it comes to some of Cyberpunk 2077's bigger branching paths, players generally tend to stick to the same route. For instance, one event that has a significant impact on how the story plays out is whether or not Takemura dies. According to Sasko, when players learned how to keep the character alive, "everyone started doing that, and in players' minds, it became linear."

Sasko ends by saying that, in a way, he feels the situation is "slightly overblown" but also acknowledges that "it could have been better".

If you've not yet had your fill of Night City, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, the game's first and only expansion, is set to launch sometime this year. A sequel codenamed Project Orion is also in the works, which CDPR says will "prove the full power and potential of the Cyberpunk universe."

See what's launching in the year ahead with our guide to new games 2023. 

The news comes from a Polish interview with the studio which called Phantom Liberty the "biggest expansion in the studio's history", though the vagaries of Google Translate left some confusion over whether that was biggest in terms of budget or scope.

As community director Marcin Momot explains in a Reddit post, "this part is about the biggest budget when it comes to expansion packs we’ve released. We will be talking more about the game scope related details in the future."

In terms of scope, at least, CD Projekt's previous biggest expansion was The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, which introduced a 20-hour campaign set in a brand-new region with loads of fresh characters to meet, enemies to fight, and gear to procure.

We know that Phantom Liberty will primarily take place in a new region of Night City, with a "spy-thriller" theme. Keanu Reeves is back as Johnny Silverhand alongside Idris Elba as a new character named Solomon Reed - so, you know, maybe some amount of that massive budget is going to the celebrity voice performances. We'll see the full scope of Phantom Liberty soon enough, as the expansion is supposed to launch this year.

Cyberpunk 2077 stumbled (and arguable tripped into a lengthy series of rakes) at launch with a pile of technical issues, but robust patches and a surge of new interest thanks to the Edgerunners anime seems to have largely turned the game's perception around.

There's plenty more coming out this year, so stay up to date with our guide to the biggest new games for 2023.

If that sounds familiar, well, yes - way back in December 2021, this very $1.85 million settlement was made public. The issue, as Law360 reports (via PCGamesN) is that US District Judge Fernando M. Olguin denied approval of the settlement in April, saying that the draft "includes a lot of information that is not in your motion and is not supported by a declaration or other documents." A revised settlement was provided within weeks.

CD Projekt and Rosen Law Firm, the group representing the investors, will have to request approval again by April 28, ahead of a fairness hearing on June 1.

This lawsuit dates all the way back to December 2020, shortly after the game's launch. Investors filed suit against CD Projekt over Cyberpunk 2077's state at launch, describing the game as "virtually unplayable on the current-generation Xbox or Playstation systems due to an enormous number of bugs," and alleging that CD Projekt's statements about the game were misleading about its final quality.

All this is to say that the gears of legal administration turn very, very slowly, a fact we're definitely going to continue being reminded of amid the continued investigations into Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

This settlement could, of course, get derailed again pending its final approval, but for now its resolution seems to be coming alongside a broader turnaround in public sentiment regarding Cyberpunk 2077. It's gotten a pile of meaningful updates in the past two years, and a surge of new interest thanks to the excellent Edgerunners anime in 2022. With Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, maybe the inevitable GOTY Edition won't feel so forced in the end.

Check out our guide to all the upcoming CD Projekt Red games.

As spotted by prolific The Witcher 3 Easter egg finder and YouTuber xLetalis (thanks, IGN), the mystery of the cryptic message 'FF:06:B5' from Night City continues in CDPR's newly re-released opus. The series of letters and numbers can be found in Night City on a statue where monks frequently pray or meditate. There are other numbers and similar statues scattered around Night City, but their meaning has yet to be discovered, even after two years since the initial clue was found. 

There's even an active subreddit dedicated to solving the mystery, and it's filled with apparent clues, deciphering of numbers, and theories, some more outlandish than others. Still, no one has presented a concrete solution, at least not publicly, and now, Cyberpunk 2077's biggest unsolved mystery continues in The Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3's next-gen update adds a bunch of new content, including some inspired by the series' Netflix adaptation. However, in one added section, Geralt teleports to Velen where some ruins have been added in the Southwest area of the region. In those ruins are three switches, which when activated, spawn an Earth Elemental. If you kill the Elemental, a portal opens up on a nearby hill. Stepping through the portal, Geralt emerges at the top of a tower and descends to a room with two crystals, which turn the floor into a portal.

Going through the portal will spawn Geralt at the top of the tower again, but if you look around the room first you'll see a symbol carved into a dark, easily missed wall, and that symbol features carvings that are exactly the same as ones on the aforementioned statue in Cyberpunk 2077. Around the symbol are letters, which xLetalis translated to: FF, VQ, BZ, KW, GB, FP, OVE, and YAR. 

As the mystery is yet unsolved, it's unclear how these seemingly random letters relate to the ones found on the Cyberpunk statue, but the symbols from the tower's walls and the statue are clearly the same. With this seemingly new clue in the riddle, the ever-determined CDPR community is going hogwild with new theories based around The Witcher 3's apparent involvement. This could either be the piece of the puzzle that brings the complete picture into view, or it could be a meaningless nod to a perpetual mystery from Cyberpunk.

With a long list of upcoming CD Projekt Red games, fans of Night City and The Witcher have a lot to look forward to in the months and years ahead.

Phantom Liberty is billed as a "story-driven," "spy-thriller expansion" for Cyberpunk 2077, and it'll introduce a whole new area of Night City for you to explore alongside Elba, who's playing New United States of America FIA Agent Solomon Reed. CD Projekt Red says the story will take you on "an impossible mission of espionage and survival," which is incredibly vague. And while Elba's new comments on the expansion do little to add clarity to its plot, they do suggest a very involved narrative.

"The deepest game narrative ever," Elba said in a reply to a CDPR tweet about Phantom Liberty. "Enjoy."

It's no surprise to see a major emphasis on story in Phantom Liberty, given that Cyberpunk 2077 is already a fairly narrative-driven game with A-list talent in its cast, but it's definitely enticing to hear an actor as revered as Elba heap praise on its story.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is due to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC at some point in 2023. Unfortunately for folks who have yet to snag a new-gen console and don't have a PC that's up to snuff, the expansion won't be available on PS4 or Xbox One. CDPR has also confirmed that Phantom Liberty will be a paid expansion, although we've yet to learn exactly how much it'll cost. 

With Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and a long list of upcoming CD Projekt Red games, fans of Night City and The Witcher have a lot to look forward to in the months and years ahead.

But resurface it did. As 2021 rumbled on, CD Projekt Red restructured much of the company around fixing Cyberpunk 2077. Patches began to address its most egregious failings, and by the time Game of the Year season rolled around, 2020's biggest flop managed to pick up a few titles. Arguably even more impressive, it also received recognition at high-profile awards shows; BAFTA nods for Narrative and Artistic Achievement, and a Game Awards nomination for Best Role Playing Game.

By the time Cyberpunk 2077's next-gen update launched in February 2022, the game's redemption arc was clear. It would take seven months to get there, but with the launch of September's Edgerunners update, the journey was complete. Players flocked to the anime, and also returned to the game in their droves. It might never live up to the heights of CDPR's hype, but Cyberpunk 2077 finally seemed to amount to the quality that players had come to expect from the studio.

The hype train never stops

That potted history would seem to make a Cyberpunk 2077 Game of the Year Edition a peculiar idea. A game that launched to ridicule in 2020, stumbled through 2021, and found renewed relevance in 2022 finally getting its GOTY outing in 2023? It's a timeline that for almost any other title would seem laughable, but it's exactly what seems to be happening. Last week, Polish news site Stockwatch reported an announcement from CDPR CEO Adam Kicinski, suggesting that Cyberpunk 2077 GOTY Edition would arrive in 2023. Citing similar treatment for The Witcher 3 after both of its expansions had launched, Kicinski suggested that the GOTY treatment for Cyberpunk – to come after its Phantom Liberty expansion – was "the natural order of things."

To some extent, I'm inclined to agree with him. Cyberpunk 2077 was always supposed to be one of the best and biggest games of 2020. It was winning 'Most Wanted' awards years before its actual release. It shifted 13 million copies in its first three weeks, and boasts one of Steam's highest concurrent player counts of all time. It didn't live up in terms of quality, but in spite of everything, it was still a juggernaut, one of the biggest games of a year that also included bangers like The Last of Us Part 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, and Call of Duty: Warzone.

For all that, however, Cyberpunk 2077's release date meant it was never going to be a major player for GOTY 2020. Released in December, it wasn't eligible for key ceremonies, immediately bumping it to 2021. But recency bias is important when it comes to determining which games find their way onto end of year lists, and even a game that didn't launch to public outcry might have struggled to cut through 12 months after release. With all the hurdles it had to overcome, it's no surprise that Cyberpunk 2077 wasn't a key consideration. 

Increasingly, however, it's clear that Game of the Year awards don't really matter when it comes to 'Game of the Year' re-releases. The Last of Us Part 2 dominated the conversation in 2020, winning more titles than any game to have come before, but we've never seen a TLOU2 GOTY Edition. In fact, Sony seems to be actively veering away from that, with 2019 contender Death Stranding and 2020's Ghost of Tsushima both opting for the more arthouse 'Director's Cut'. On the other hand, Far Cry 6 – a game for which awards season was driven by several Best Performance nods for Giancarlo Esposito, and which wasn't even nominated for a major GOTY – dropped its own full-fledged Game of the Year Edition back in October.

Perhaps the age of the 'Game of the Year' re-release might be drawing to its end. Like the PlayStation Platinum Editions of years past, studios will instead look for new ways to refer to big new releases; Death Stranding Director's Cut, Skyrim Anniversary Edition, Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition. Elsewhere, they might simply let the game's success speak for itself. But for Cyberpunk – a game that in another timeline might have swept the entire conversation but instead spent two years fighting to regain its place at the table – perhaps next year's expansion is the final, crowning achievement that allows it to cement the legacy it might have had.

Perhaps one day, our Cyberpunk 2077 review will be seen as truly prophetic.

In a new Reddit Q&A, in which Edgerunners director Hiroyuki Imaishi invited fans upset over the series' ending to "create copium to your heart's content," Imaishi and producer Saya Elder were asked whether they would work with CDPR on another anime. "If they approach us with something cool, maybe!" Imaishi replied.

Of course, that by no means there's anything in the works. In fact, it seems to imply just the opposite, however they're very much opening up the possibility of further collaboration. For its part, CDPR has strongly shut down the idea of a second season of Edgerunners. "Just to be clear, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was planned as a standalone work, so there's no such thing as 'we are actually working on Season 2 in the background'," said CDPR's Japan country manager Satoru Honma last month.

The full response to the question about player-created "copium" due to the series' ending is also worth sharing.

"We were unfamiliar with what 'copium' was & received the following definition: To 'cope' is to deal with a sad situation. 'Copium' implies there's some substance to make you cope from a situation," Elder said, which Imaishi followed up on with this absolute gem:

"I admire everyone's persistence on wanting a happy ending. Please continue creating as much 'copium' to your heart's content."

With so many upcoming CDPR games, it's only natural to ask: has the world finally forgiven Cyberpunk 2077?

The timeline on the sequel comes up a few times throughout the call. One key point, as CFO Piotr Nielubowicz put it, is that "after launching [Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty] we'll accelerate the work on the Orion project done by the new Boston studio." 

CEO Adam Kiciński reiterated this later in the call in response to a question about when the Cyberpunk sequel will start pre-production. "After releasing Phantom Liberty we will start working on the next Cyberpunk game," he clarified. 

The waters get a bit muddy as Kiciński delves into two ways of describing game development: "our common language in development and the formal language linked to how we allocate costs." To put it plainly, the Cyberpunk sequel is only scheduled for research and conceptual work next year – done by "a smaller team than what's now working on Phantom Liberty, as some developers will join [The Witcher 4] Polaris and help with its development," Kiciński noted. 

Speaking formally, Kiciński added, pre-production comes after this conceptual phase and is really the "first part of development." For the Cyberpunk sequel, this "probably won't start next year," he affirmed, again adding that "of course, we'll start working on the game in the conceptual phase next year." 

So what does all that mean? Well, it means the Cyberpunk sequel is still just a tiny little seed right now, and CD Projekt Red probably won't even put that seed in the ground until 2024, which ought to be when more active development starts. It also reinforces that this game is years and years away and was announced exceedingly early, in case there was ever any doubt. 

Also in case there was any doubt: Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will be a paid expansion. 

The 'Stock Market and News System' creation was uploaded to NexusModslast week. The mod adds a 'Stock Market' option to every in-game PC, letting players peruse 33 stock options and 66 news channels in Night City said to "dynamically react to quests and player action" - meaning certain quests will actually cause stock options to increase or decrease. For example if you complete 'The Heist' mission, Arasaka stock will probably take a bit of a nose dive, although the changing values are never guaranteed.

Even certain actions like killing cops will cause the Night City Police Department's overall stock prices to decrease. Yes, this really is a corporate hellscape in which you can purchase stock in the police. Fair play, modder.

Additionally, the news tab will generate items based on quests completed. The NexusMods entry for the mod doesn't specify what quests and missions might generate news items on a PC, but seasoned Cyberpunk 2077 players will probably have a pretty good idea on which Earth-shattering quest lines might affect the wider city.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is still on track for launch next year, and we recently confirmed it'd be a paid expansion. CD Projekt isn't revealing how much the DLC will cost right now, but there's good reason to believe it might cost more than The Witcher 3's two DLC expansions. 

Check out the full slate of upcoming CD Projekt Red games for a full look at the developer's ambitious slate. 

In a comment provided to GamesRadar+, CDPR's global PR director Radek Grabowski confirmed that "as for the expansion's pricing - we have not revealed exact details yet, but it will be a paid one."

That likely won't come as too big a surprise to fans, but there has been some confusion. For The Witcher 3, CD Projekt released both paid and free add-on content, but the difference seems to have lied in how it described the new stuff. Using Wild Hunt as an example, 'DLC' appeared to be free - but limited - additions, while 'expansions' were premium, paid, and significantly larger. Hearts of Stone cost $9.99 on release, while the Blood and Wine expansion, which featured a whole new map, was $19.99.

CD Projekt hasn't confirmed exact pricing, but Grabowski did say that "our expansions are traditionally cheaper than full-price games." That suggests that while Phantom Liberty might cost a little more than Geralt's extra adventures, it'll be cheaper than the $60 Cyberpunk 2077 sold for at launch.

Phantom Liberty will be the first and only major Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, but it won't be our final trip to Night City. Last month, CDPR announced that it's working on a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel currently known only as Project Orion. That, however, is in addition to a new Witcher trilogy, so we could be some way off finding out what's in store for Cyberpunk.

That's a lot to wrap your head around, so for more information, here's a list of upcoming CD Projekt Red games. 

For some background - because if there's any story that demands a quick recap, it's probably this one - way back in December 2020 Cyberpunk 2077 players discovered a fascinating glitch that caused protagonist V to drop trou and t-pose through the roof of their car, flashing ass for all of Night City to see. That was around the time CDPR formally apologized for the game's sorry state at launch and pledged to continue combatting bugs and performance issues. Well, nearly two years have passed since then and the devs are still working on keeping V's private parts contained.

Cyberpunk 2077's latest patch fixes a number of glitches plaguing the game, but one of them in particular rings familiar for those of us who remember V's bare-assed t-posing stunt. "Fixed the issue where V's breasts clipped through clothes after changing their size at a Ripperdoc," reads a line from the patch notes.

If you're still as confused as when you started reading this story, let me explain further. In Cyberpunk 2077, you can pay one Night City's Ripperdoc's a visit to have various parts of your cyberbody modified, and these services include breast enlargement. However, there was a glitch that had been exposing V's breasts despite the character being fully clothed, and that's what's being patched out today.

Cyberpunk 2077 recently regained the spotlight after the highly successful anime adaptation, which unfortunately won't be getting a second season, and a full-blown sequel codenamed Project Orion.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will be the RPGs one and only expansion, and it's set to release next year. CDPR has also confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will be a paid expansion.

Around a month ago we reported that Cyberpunk 2077 was reaching 1 million players daily thanks to the Edgerunners update and Netflix anime, and now four weeks later this is still the case. As revealed by the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account, the game has had 1 million active players each day for four weeks in a row. "Night City sure is thriving! Your passion and continued support leave us speechless," the tweet reads. 

This is great news for the game's developer CD Projekt Red which only recently announced a large expansion for the game titled Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty. The project is currently the only "planned" expansion for the RPG and is being worked on by half of CD Projekt Red's developers. You can expect to reunite with Johnny Silverhand in Night City sometime in 2023. 

The developer isn't planning to stop with the Cyberpunk 2077 projects anytime soon either. Earlier this month, CD Projekt Red revealed that a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel currently codenamed Project Orion is in development. According to the dev, the sequel will "prove the full power and potential of the Cyberpunk universe" and is also being worked on by the CD Projekt Red team.  

It seems there's been a lot of crossover between CD Projekt Red's game and the Netflix series. Not only is has it increased the game's player base lately, thanks to the Edgerunners update which is based on the anime, but fans have also attempted to crossover the two as one modder recreates Lucy's apartment post-Cyberpunk Edgerunners.

Since CD Projekt Red's 2020 title appears to have gotten a second wind, has the world finally forgiven Cyberpunk 2077?

CD Projekt Red‘s Japan country manager Satoru Honma reaffirms in an interview with Famitsu that the Studio Trigger anime adaptation is considered a standalone project (thanks, VGC), though the developer is interested in creating more anime. 

“I personally would like to continue to work with Japanese studios to produce more anime in the future, partly because we have received very good feedback,” Honma says.

“However, just to be clear, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was planned as a standalone work, so there’s no such thing as ‘we are actually working on Season 2 in the background’.

“Even if we could make more anime in the future, I don’t know if it would be Season 2 or something completely different.”

There you go. Not a total shutdown, though we wouldn’t hold our breath at this point. 

If you’ve been out of the loop, Cyberpunk 2077 has been enjoying something of a revival right now, with people flocking back to the game after watching the anime. As the dystopian RPG has enjoyed a bevy of fixes since launch, people are returning to find Night City a rosier sight.

Cyberpunk 2077’s resurgence was enough to send its concurrent Steam player peak back past The Witcher 3’s all-time concurrent player record. As you can imagine, one developer, in particular, felt quite good about all that. 

CD Projekt has plenty of plans for the franchise moving forward, too. Alongside the possibility of more anime, Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a grand expansion before attention firmly shifts towards the sequel, known as Orion for the time being.

Among many other major announcements, CDPR recently confirmed The Witcher 4 is the start of a new trilogy; a new IP separate from Cyberpunk and Witcher; and a new third-party Witcher game also in development.

Reddit user OnlyWithNumers has been so kind to round up heaps of them in one post (below), though we’ve seen several like it since the anime launched last month. While Edgerunners’ use of Cyberpunk 2077’s sounds is easier to notice – Hallie Coggins and Rosa Walton’s bop I Really Want to Stay at Your House features prominently, as does more minor sounds like the ringtone of a phone implant – the locales don’t register immediately. 

Several low-key shots of benches and street corners in the anime come straight from the game. Some examples, though, are easier to spot, like a rooftop David and Lucy sit atop while looking at Night City’s skyline, or the infamous Afterlife bar. 

just_a_few_locationsshots_from_edgerunners_shown from r/cyberpunkgame

As we initially reported, even for hardened Cyberpunk 2077 fans, these familiar sounds and sights now hit different following Edgerunners, and it’s pretty emotional. 

the_world_before_and_after_watching_edgerunners from r/cyberpunkgame

Cyberpunk 2077 fans are also going out of their way to bring elements of Edgerunners to the game that weren’t there previously. Modders have recreated David’s mansion, Lucy’s apartment following the anime’s end, and even added proper cyberpsychosis through a new humanity system. 

Developer CD Projekt Red is undoubtedly enjoying Cyberpunk 2077’s resurgence, too. Not only has a developer commented that it’s ‘good to be back’, but plans are in motion for the RPG’s first-and-only expansion and a full-blown sequel. Busy times. 

Has the world finally forgiven Cyberpunk 2077? It would certainly seem so. 

The 'Make a Living' mod allows you to deliver packages from one drop point to the next in exchange for eurodollars. Once you download the mod, you'll see a new window next to the mini map when you're at a drop point that lists any available jobs you can accept, how far you'll need to travel to complete them, and how well they pay. The mod-maker hopes this will incentivize players to explore Night City more.

"Night City is huge and 'breathtaking' yet while you're in there without doing gigs or questlines you can feel out of place," reads the description on NexusMods. "My goal is to add more activities to it and let you enjoy the city more, making you feel more like a true citizen."

Having played Cyberpunk 2077 for a few hours and lost interest in the main campaign pretty quickly, this mod could be the thing that gets me to re-download the game. I remember feeling enchanted by the look and feel of Night City but also wanting for more exploration-focused tasks, especially in the early game. Of course, the chance to score some eddies on the side makes this mod even more enticing.

Almost two years since launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent weeks, perhaps thanks to substantial number of updates and fixes, a confirmed sequel on the way, and a healthy modding scene. It's unclear if the world has fully welcomed the game back into its good graces, but one senior developer recently said "it's fucking good to be back" in an emotional reaction to the game's recent uptick in the community.

Here are some handy Cyberpunk 2077 tips if you're just setting foot in Night City for the first time.

Developer CD Projekt Red recently updated its save file guide with detailed steps on evacuating Stadia saves via Google Takeout, a data export service. This allows Stadia players to continue their save on PC, albeit with quite a bit of doing, and CDPR's cross-progression allows for console transfers from there. 

Here's how that process looks: 

• Log into Google Takeout and, under "Create a new export," deselect all platforms and then add Stadia. Continue to the next step.
• Choose an export destination (where you want the file to go) and set frequency to "Export once" using a .zip file type with a 2GB size, then "Create export."
• Find the downloaded file on your PC at the destination you set, then extract it (using WinRAR, 7-Zip, etc.). To find your save file, navigate to the folder: Takeout/Stadia/GAMING/GAME_SAVE/. If you had other Stadia saves apart from Cyberpunk 2077, they may appear here as well. 
• Once you find your Cyberpunk 2077 game saves, extract the files for each to separate folders. From there, copy and paste those folders into the folder at this path: %userprofile%\Saved Games\CD Projekt Red\Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red shared an image of one save in a sample folder, stressing that multiple save files shouldn't be nested inside a folder. 

If all goes well, your PC build of Cyberpunk 2077 (whatever storefront you play it through) should recognize your save. If you play on console, you can then use cross-progression to sync your files with your GOG account and bring them to your console of choice. You'll need CDPR's REDLauncher installed to store cross-platform saves in the cloud. 

To jump to console, first start Cyberpunk 2077 on PC, open the REDlauncher, enable cross-platform saves under settings, and load the save file you just exported and pasted over. Save again to make sure, then check and see if your save is accessible via the cloud on PlayStation or Xbox.  

Word of Stadia shutting down blindsided many game developers who were actively creating new games for the platform. Ubisoft is working on a way to let players use Ubisoft Connect to transfer Stadia saves to PC, and The Elder Scrolls Online players can also transfer their progress off the platform. 

Here's hoping a similar life jacket is thrown to the 6,000-hour Red Dead Redemption 2 veteran who begged Rockstar for a character transfer. 

Uploaded to NexusMods, the ‘Lucy’s Apartment After Edgerunners’ entry in the Cyberpunk 2077 mods does exactly what it says on the tin. Set after the conclusion of the Netflix anime, the mod transplants Lucy’s Apartment into Cyberpunk 2077’s version of Night City for the player to explore.

Now, the matter of the mod taking place after Edgerunners is particularly important because it means you can’t just bump into Edgerunners protagonist David Martinez there. After the hero meets his demise at the hands of Adam Smasher, this mod hypothesizes that Lucy retreats into the comfort of her apartment, rather than stay in the apartment she and David lived in together (which someone else also remade in Cyberpunk 2077 as a mod).

It’s sad to think of Lucy heading back to the same apartment she used to live in after Edgerunners is all said and done. The anime’s closing moments emphasize Lucy realizing her dream of heading to the Moon, finally breaking free of Night City, so this modder seemingly thinks there’s a sad fate in store for Lucy after Edgerunners ends.

The apartment itself has been recreated in pretty authentic detail by the modder. There’s the big leather-like sofa looking out onto Night City underneath the window, and the seating area on a lower section of the floor, not unlike the structure of V’s basic apartment in the rest of Cyberpunk 2077. This is one impressive creation, even if it does bring a tear to our eye.

With the recent announcement of a new game in the series, some fans definitely want the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel to stay in Night City. 

Over on NexusMods, a new entry called 'Wannabe Edgerunner - A Simple Cyberpsychosis Mod' was uploaded last week. Taking inspiration from the recent Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime spin-off on Netflix, this entry in the Cyberpunk 2077 mods installs a 'Humanity' system for player character V, where they suffer from Cyberpsychosis if they install too many mods.

"Adds new stat - Humanity, which depends on installed cyberware, Berserk/Sandevistan usages and committed kills," the mod's description reads. "Each implant decreases your Humanity permanently while installed, cyberware usages and enemy kills decrease it temporarily so you can restore it after getting "Rested" effect. You can track your current Humanity value via Cyberware menu screen or with a new widget which will appear above the player's HP bar."

In short, the mod wants to reflect the horrific side effects of installing too many Cyberware mods, which we see take effect in Cyberpunk Edgerunners' protagonist David Martinez towards the conclusion of the anime. Those who have effectively lost their humanity to Cyberpsychosis can also be found and fought throughout Cyberpunk 2077's Night City (check out our Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpsycho Sighting locations guide if you've missed them).

The new mod evens adds Neuroblockers, which we see Martinez and other Edgerunners characters use sparingly in several episodes as a way to temporarily prevent the effects of Cyberpsychosis. Just like in the anime though, the Neuroblockers are only a temporary measure for holding the permanent effects of Cyberpsychosis at bay.

Perhaps we'll see more of the Cyberpsychosis feature in the newly-announced Cyberpunk 2077 sequel Orion, which will be in development across three studios in the near future. 

After the success of Edgerunners and several months of patches - has the world finally forgiven Cyberpunk 2077? 

Between times, a Night City livestream teased the incoming Phantom Liberty expansion that's due in 2023, and, just this week, Cyberpunk 2077 featured prominently during CD Projekt Red's surprise reveal-all investors call. Alongside mention of a new The Witcher trilogy, and a new game that's still in its "conceptual phase", Cyberpunk 2077 Orion was teased – a proper Cyberpunk 2077 sequel that CDPR says will "prove the full power and potential of the Cyberpunk universe". A quick glance on social media in the immediate aftermath of the call showed excited fans cheering, still-disgruntled players jeering, and just about everyone asking questions of its setting, its premise, and whether or not after everything that's happened in and around this game over the last almost-two years, is promising so much more at this point the right move? 

It was exciting, and, for me at least, felt like the most vocal buzz we've seen around this game since pre-launch. Which keeps leading me back to the same question: Has the world now forgiven Cyberpunk 2077?

Night then dawn

Forgive but not forget, right? I'm sure that's the stance of many players who felt short-changed in the wake of Cyberpunk 2077's console launch. I too was left upset at the tail-end of a shit year, hoping for the slightest reprieve by way of a video game I'd been looking forward to for literal years. It didn't turn out that way, of course, but, full credit to CD Projekt Red, the studio appears to have hauled its once derided action role-player from the gutter, kicked it into shape, and is now seemingly finding its stride again with a flood of new and returning players.  

If video game history has taught us anything, it's that hype and overpromising rarely leads to anything positive. What seemed to accentuate Cyberpunk 2077's galling console launch issues was the fact Hello Games' No Man's Sky had walked a similar path just a few years before. In that instance, players deemed the developer and publisher Sony to have bigged-up the open world action adventure-meets-survival game so much, and for such a long time, that what released on August 8, 2016 did not match its promise and promotional materials at all. Fast forward six years, and No Man's Sky is flying (pardon the pun) after an avalanche of sustained quality of life tweaks, myriad updates, and, most recently, a No Man's Sky Nintendo Switch launch. Time and effort, it seems, is a great healer. 

From Daikatana to Duke Nukem: Forever; Mighty No. 9 to Star Fox Zero; Resident Evil 6 to Peter Molyneux's Godus, the last 20-odd years have been filled with games that once promised the world, but ultimately buckled under the weight of their own hype. Being able to bounce back, then, is no mean feat, and while CD Projekt Red entered this self-inflicted storm having been previously revered for The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 is a good example of how quickly good faith can be lost – and, perhaps more importantly, how long it can take to be redeemed.

So has the world now forgiven Cyberpunk 2077? It's possible CD Projekt Red's recent multi-project announcement was driven in-part by a desire to restore more of that lost faith, to salvage more of its once untouchable reputation, or as a statement of intent with an eye on potential future investors. On the players' end of things, I'm not surprised some people are excited by the future. Given how brutal and outspoken the internet is, I'm also not surprised that some others can't, and will never, forgive. As for the most level-headed Cyberpunk 2077 console players among us? Well, we're simply cautiously optimistic. 

Love yourself some role-playing? Check out the best RPG games available today. 

Speaking during an investor's call earlier this week, CD Projekt chief financial official Piotr Nielubowicz elaborated on plans for the sequel. "The North American studio will consist of teams working from Boston and the team working from Vancouver," Nielubowicz began (thanks, IGN).

"As for the total headcount required for such a production, I believe the best reference is Cyberpunk 2077, our most recent release and a good reference point when thinking about development headcount and future projects of this scale. I think it’s safe to assume that between 350 and 500 developers should be required," the CFO continued.

Right now, it's looking like Nielubowicz's estimated numbers account for developers across its Boston, Vancouver, and Warsaw-based studios. Considering CD Projekt is sending over Cyberpunk 2077's core team of developers to help establish the Boston-based studio, who'll lead the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel's development, it's looks like they've got plenty of hiring to do.

According to Cyberpunk 2077 lead quest designer Paweł Sasko above, Cyberpunk 2077's sequel will be a collaborative effort from three key studios around the world. Whereas the majority of Cyberpunk 2077's vast development took place in Warsaw, Orion's development will be spread out over half the globe. That's a fairly huge undertaking and co-ordination effort from CD Projekt.

Right now, we know precious little about the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, which isn't hugely surprising, given that it isn't in active development right now. However, that hasn't stopped some Cyberpunk 2077 fans voicing support for Night City's return in the sequel, instead of the new game heading to new territory with a setting elsewhere in North America or even further afield. 

Elsewhere, we've got Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion to look forward to next year before the sequel's development really gets going. 

How to get Mantis Blades in Cyberpunk 2077 

To get Mantis Blades you'll first need both enough street cred and money to buy them. The majority of ripperdocs will stock Mantis Blades - found under the arms section of the cyberware enhancements menu - but they're locked behind that requirement to have at least level 20 street cred. If you need to earn more then hit as many gigs as you can and rinse through side mission stuff to boost your standing. You'll also need around 16,000 eddies in order to actually buy them once you're cool enough.

Once you have them they'll appear in your inventory under cyberware, which is where you can apply mods to them - like adding fire for extra damage. You can also switch to them using your weapons wheel at any point too. 

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How to use Cyberpunk 2077 Mantis Blades

If you really want to dial into the Mantis Blade's strengths, you'll want to spec your character out accordingly. The more you use them, the higher your skill with them will get, as you'll be earning skill points for wielding the blades. The higher your skill then gets the higher your damage buffs will be. 

Make sure you also make use of the strong attack option, which you can use by holding down the attack button. This will let you leap to an enemy and dig your blades in for a powerful attack that could apply a bleeding effect. 

As for skills and perks, you'll want to try and funnel points into Body and Reflexes, especially with perks that increased melee weapon damage. Within Reflexes there's also a perk that'll increase Mantis Blade damage by three too, which basically essential if you're going all in on arm swords. 

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The main way to get new cars and bikes to add to your garage is to buy them when someone contacts you with news of a new vehicle up for sale. Find them on the Cyberpunk 2077 map and pay them a visit, fork over the eddies and you'll have yourself a new ride.

There are also some vehicles you can get by completing missions, so if you don't want to spend your hard-earned cash on a car, complete some more side missions. Some of the cars you can earn are great, too, so just play the game for of the best options. Cars in Cyberpunk 2077 don't have massively different stats though, so most vehicles will basically do the job you need them for - all you're really changing are the looks. 

Cyberpunk 2077 tips | How long to beat Cyberpunk | Cyberpunk 2077 lifepath guide | Cyberpunk 2077 best weapons | Cyberpunk 2077 Romance options | Cyberpunk 2077 ending | Cyberpunk 2077 Mantis Blades | Cyberpunk 2077 change appearance | Cyberpunk 2077 builds | Cyberpunk 2077 hacking guide | Cyberpunk 2077 bugs | Cyberpunk 2077 patch notes

Obviously, there are huge Cyberpunk 2077 spoilers beyond the image below, so only scroll if you dare. 

How to check your Johnny Silverhand relationship

There's a lot of talk that you need to be on really good terms with Johnny to get the secret ending, with a relationship status of at least 70%. If you do want to check your Johnny Silverhand relationship, it's the central box at the top of the pause menu labelled "Synergy". However, certain key dialogue options seem to be far more important to unlocking the secret ending. 

The key thing is to basically be nice to Johnny and let him do what he wants - if he wants to smoke, drink, take over your body, let him. Just to be safe. 

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Cyberpunk 2077 secret ending dialogue options

At crucial points in the game, you have to choose options that improve your relationship with Silverhand. The easy way to do this is just let him do whatever he wants when the option comes up. Generally the actions that please Johnny are obvious - letting him go out and doing what he wants. 

However, an early mission, Chippin' In, appears to have a big impact at the graveyard scene via the dialogue alone. It's easy to miss this as it can happen a long time before the ending, depending on how you progress through the game. To improve your chances, pick these Cyberpunk 2077 secret ending dialogue options at this point in the game: 

1. [Inscribe Johnny's Initials] "Let's do something about that."
2. "The Guy who Saved My Life."
3. "Nah, fucked that up too."
4. "What do you want from me?"
5. "OK. But as second chances go, this is your last."
6. "You were a real dick in the beginning."
7. "When you said you let down your friends..."
8. "Smasher biz really got to her."
9. "Yeah, I'll call Rogue."

Cyberpunk 2077 Nocture OP55N1 options

When you reach the final point in the final mission, Nocture OP55N1, you'll be on the roof with Johnny. At this point you'll need to do the following:

1. Choose the ending option that lets Johnny go with Rogue
2. At the next dialogue option (where there's the option to 'put this to rest', take the pseudoendotrizine, or 'need a minute') simply wait.
3. Keep looking between Johnny, the gun, and the pills and eventually he'll offer up an alternative option - a suicide run where he suggests facing Arasaka alone.

With that, you'll launch into this Cyberpunk 2077 secret ending where you, and only you, blast your way through the Arasaka building. This is not to be taken lightly as every enemy will be a very high level, so you need to grind a bit before you attempt it. Plus, it's a one-strike-you're-out deal, so if you die at any point, you'll fail and be sent straight to the credits. Told you it was hardcore. 

Doing this mission will earn you some exclusive in-game content that's unavailable elsewhere, so definitely make sure to check it out if you can. Of course, Phantom Liberty also added its own new ending for the full game too, so there are six endings for Cyberpunk 2077, including this secret one.

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Relationship and romance options were further developed with the addition of the Cyberpunk 2077 2.1 update, which allowed your romantic partner to come over to one of your apartments, but the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty expansion that came out at the same time featured no new relationships. So no, Songbird, Aurore and Solomon Reed aren't romance options, sadly. 

Still, there's plenty more fish in the sea from the core game, so if you want to find tender love - or just carnal pleasure - in Cyberpunk 2077, here are all the relationships and romances in the game and how to unlock them.

There are mild spoilers below so be aware as you scroll!

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All Cyberpunk 2077 romance options

There are four main Cyberpunk 2077 romance options available: 

• Judy Alvarez - romanceable with a female body and voice
• Panam Palmer - romanceable with a male body
• River Ward - romanceable with a female body
• Kerry Eurodyne - romanceable with a male voice and body

With these restrictions, you can't romance all of them in a single playthrough, but depending on the gender options of your V, you should be able to get involved with two of them - though be aware that some sequences can lock you to just one partner, essentially forcing you to choose one of them. Of course, you can choose to just have sex with them, but getting into proper relationships allows for hangouts too.

There are also some non-romantic hooks-ups you can have in Cyberpunk 2077: 

• Meredith Stout - If you use her chip with the encryption still intact in the Maelstrom mission 'The Pick Up' she'll later invite you to the No-Tell Motel.
• Alt Cunningham - This happens via Johnny Silverhand's memory flashbacks which flesh out the backstory for Alt and Johnny's relationship.
• Joy-Toys - You'll find male and female sex workers on Jig-Jig Street in the west of Japantown, just south of the Cherry Blossom Market fast-travel point.

Here are the four main romance options in Cyberpunk 2077 in more detail: 

How to romance Judy in Cyberpunk 2077

Only romanceable by a V with a feminine body and voice tone

The first romanceable character you're likely to meet is Judy Alvarez, the braindance expert that you'll encounter before the end of Act One. She's the friend of Evelyn who helps you with the plan to steal the biochip from Arasaka. 

Part of your initial investigations on how to get rid of Johnny Silverhand will be an attempt to track down Evelyn. It's here that you'll cross paths with Judy again. Make sure to take advantage of any optional objectives you get to call her, and keep her involved with the story, as that way you'll start spending more and more time with her.  

Eventually she'll end up in Side Job territory with an entire arc of her own starting with a quest called Ex-Factor, which you'll get after Judy calls you to ask if you'll help her take over Clouds - the doll club that you went to for information on Evelyn. After that there will be more missions, including the multi-part quest Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution and a second strand called Pisces. Eventually you'll be offered a Side Job called Pyramid Song and this is the mission where, if you're playing as female body and voice V, you'll be given the opportunity to make your move. 

In the morning, Judy will ask you what the night meant to you. You can choose from:

• The beginning of something amazing.
• A pleasant distraction.

The former will start a relationship with Judy, while the latter will dismiss it as a one-night stand. Choose to start dating her and it could have implications for your Cyberpunk 2077 endings.

How to romance Panam in Cyberpunk 2077

Only romanceable by a V with a male body type

Panam Palmer is an interesting romance option from the Nomads. You'll meet her through a quest to find Anders Hellman, and there's even an opportunity to test your romantic luck with her there. But your journey with Panam continues through Side Jobs, and your decisions could eventually lead to a little romance. 

Some time after the Hellman mission, she'll call and ask for your help with a Side Job called Riders on the Storm. During this mission you'll get trapped in a little house in the middle of a raging Badlands sandstorm and there's an opportunity here to make a move on her. However, she's reluctant, and nervous to get into any romance until later. There will be another opportunity in a Side Job called With a Little Help from my Friends, and then again in Queen of the Highway. It's in this last mission where some romance is finally possible - when you're inside the Basilisk and wired in together. However, you can't get into a more formal relationship with her. 

Panam is one of the key relationships that you'll want to maintain to explore every ending option in the game, so one to keep close even if you're playing as female V. 

How to romance River in Cyberpunk 2077

Only romanceable by a V with a female body type

It's easy to miss out on the River Ward romance option as you'll only meet him if you undertake a Side Job called I Fought the Law. During this you'll be tasked by the Peralez husband and wife duo to investigate the recent death of the mayor. Here you'll cross paths with River, who's looking into the case unofficially. 

After that River will call later because he needs help with the disappearance of his nephew. That will trigger a mission called The Hunt, which is one of the more interesting / terrifying quests you'll undertake in Cyberpunk 2077. He'll call you again a while after that's done, asking you to come over for dinner, which will be the Side Job called Following the River. 

It's at the end of this, after much teasing, that River will ask you if you know why he's taken you to a secluded spot with a view of the city. You can tease him back, but eventually, you'll be asked whether you like him, like him, or just like him as a friend. Say you like him and you'll be able to romance him. 

In the morning, he'll ask whether you want to make this a relationship or not, and you'll be able to say yes if you want to carry on dating him. Again, like with Judy, adding his relationship to your story can have implications for the ending.

How to romance Kerry in Cyberpunk 2077

Only romanceable with a V with a masculine voice and body type

You won't meet Kerry Eurodyne unless you really explore the Side Jobs involving Rogue and Johnny. Eventually, you'll be asked to break into his house to see if he's okay, and end up trying to get the Samurai band back together for one last gig. After these missions, Kerry will call asking for your help, triggering a secondary string of missions that will both conclude his mission arc and eventually open up a romance option. 

Getting there involves issues with Kerry's solo career, and a Japanese pop band called Us Cracks doing a cover of one of his songs. But, later on, it's about getting to the bottom of what's really holding Kerry back.

When you hit the mission Off the Leash, you'll take a moment midway through to have a chat with Kerry at a rooftop bar. Here you'll get the opportunity to go in for a kiss, but it won't be until the next mission - Boats Drinks - where you go on a boat trip with Kerry, and a second kiss option appears while you're trashing his manager's boat, that the romance really gets steaming. You'll then have an option on the beach where you can then get into a relationship with him.

How to start a romantic hangout in Cyberpunk 2077

New in Cyberpunk 2077 with the 2.1 update, you can now call your romantic partner to come and hangout at one of your owned apartments. Obviously, you need to have Cyberpunk 2077 updated to 2.1 or better to have access to this feature, but here's exactly how it all works:

1. Complete the relevant questline for the character you want to romance and make sure you choose the option to get into a relationship with them.
2. After a while, you should get a new side quest called "I Really Want To Stay At Your House" in which you need to reply to your partner's message. If you're loading up an old save where your V is already in a relationship, you should have this quest automatically.
3. Reply to the message and your partner will suggest hanging out, then you need to choose which of your owned apartments to meet them at.
4. Once you've set the location for your date, head over there and your partner will be waiting for you in your apartment (I guess you also gave them a spare key).
5. Hang out with your romance partner and interact with different things around your apartment.
6. Once you're done, leave your apartment then reply to your partner's message to complete the mission.
7. A couple of days after your hangout, the "I Really Want To Stay At Your House" quest should appear in your journal again, allowing you to replay the hangout.

Other romance options in Cyberpunk 2077

Meredith Stout

Only romanceable if you've made the right decision with the Maelstrom mission 'The Pick Up' 

In the main Cyberpunk 2077 The Pickup job, you'll have the decision whether or not to call Meredith Stout. If you use her chip (with encryption still intact) to pay for the Flathead robot, she'll later drop you a message, which opens up the open to pay her a visit. She'll invite you to the No-Tell Motel, and there's some romance to be had there. No relationships though.

Alt Cunningham

Okay, so Alt Cunningham isn't exactly a romance option, more of a romance necessity. You'll meet here via Johnny Silverhand's memory flashbacks which flesh out the backstory for Alt and Johnny's relationship. That will become crucial later on in the game's story and into its closing moments. 

Rogue Amendiares

Rogue isn't a core romance option but there's an opportunity for her and Johnny them to attempt to rekindle their relationship. After the problems with Hanako-sama and Takemura, you'll play a mission called Tapeworm where you and Johnny have a heart to heart. It's here that he'll ask you if he can go and visit Rogue by taking over your body. You can decide later whether you want him to take over or not, but if you let him it'll start a little chain of events that'll lead to Johnny taking Rogue on a date through V. It won't lead to a full-on relationship (for obvious reasons), but it does have implications for the game's ending if you make the right choices elsewhere too. 

Cyberpunk 2077 Romance with Joy-Toys

The easiest of the conquests to be had in Night City are the Joy-Toys that you'll find in Jig-Jig Street - the equivalent of Night City's Red Light District. You'll visit it plenty as part of the main storyline, but if you want to head there at any other point for pleasure, it's in the west of Japantown, just south of the Cherry Blossom Market fast-travel point. Handily, the Joy-Toys are marked on your map for easy access (ahem). There's a male and female option available too. 

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Cyberpunk 2077 Dream On walkthrough

When you get the call from Jefferson, head to the apartment and listen to what the Peralez's have to say. Afterwards, Elizabeth will offer to show you round the apartment, which is when the mission properly starts. You need to scan everything possible and investigate the entire apartment to figure out what the game is. It's fun to suss it out on your own, but if you're stuck, there are a couple of key things to scan that will progress the mission:

• Upstairs, scan the enormous grey screen in front of the long sofa and table. It's made of smart glass; if you have a Technical Ability attribute of 10 or above, you can fix it, at which point you'll be knocked unconscious before waking up shortly afterwards.
• To the left of the smart glass screen, there are two wooden doors. You can force the one on the right open if you have a Body attribute of seven or more.
• This can also be unlocked via the computer in the security room on the lower floor. Use the access code for the other computer from the messages (it's 6709 if you haven't found it) then navigate to the Local Network tab to unlock the door.
• This will reveal the hidden security room. Interact with the computer on the desk to read messages between the Field Agents spying on the Peralez's, then turn around and scan the massive computer in the room. 
• After that, climb the ladder onto the roof and follow the cables to the transceiver. Scan the massive receiver in the distance, then talk to Elizabeth.

After you're done investigating the apartment, leave the building, hop in your vehicle, and head off in pursuit of the surveillance van. Follow it through the streets of Night City until it eventually reaches its destination. Kill all the enemies in the area – there are a lot of them – then jack in to the van's access point. 

You'll learn all about what the security firm have been doing, because they have full biological profiles on both Jefferson and Elizabeth, and have been feeding things into their heads. Call Elizabeth afterwards and tell her the truth, then head to the ramen shop to meet with her.

Elizabeth will confess to you that she had an inkling that something was awry in their apartment, thanks to behavioural changes she spotted in Jefferson. An unknown person called her and told her to not tell Jefferson anything, because their "perfect lives could fall apart at any minute".

She says she's going to tell Jefferson that the security firm SSI was spying for Holt, his rival in the mayoral elections. This is where you come in; do you tell Jefferson the truth, or stick with Elizabeth's lie?

Go and meet Jefferson in Reconciliation Park, though you'll get a call from the same unknown person before you reach him. When you're sat on the bench with him, you can either tell him it's nothing to do with Holt and that he's being brainwashed, or that you have nothing to add to Elizabeth's version of events.

Which decision is the right one? Thankfully, there is no correct answer. This is where your adventure with the Peralez's ends, because this is solely a decision based on what you think is the right thing to do. Would your V tell Jefferson the truth, or is he safer believing Elizabeth's lie? Either way, you'll be blocked from contacting the pair again in the future, so it all gets wrapped up nicely.

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Here we can show you how to find everything that matters in the Braindance, including the Relic itself. Read on for a breakdown of where to find what you need in the Cyberpunk 2077 The Information mission.

Cyberpunk 2077 The Information objectives

1. Examine the brain dance in Analysis Mode to find the Relic
2. Scan the apartment's security systems (optional)
3. Watch the whole recording from Evelyn's point of view (optional)
4. Scan for thermal clues to find the relic

Examine the brain dance in Analysis Mode to find the Relic

The first two objectives form the bulk of the investigation. You can't actually scan for thermal clues until you know that's a thing so work though the objectives until you have the option to scan the thermal layer. 

The security systems can seem tricky if you don't pay attention right at the start, especially as you won't know how much you need to scan until you've scanned it. You can actually grab four things almost immediately which is part of the problem as they're easy to pass by - several key items appear in the first few seconds and there's actually a lot to miss before you've even realized you've started.

Here's where to find the apartment security systems: 

Time to scan / layer - 0m10s / Visual 

• Military-grade cyberware - you can't really miss the giant cyborg guard so scan him as soon as you see him.
• Motion sensor camera - this is on the wall, up and to the right just outside the lift entrance. 
• Alarm System - this is on the wall just to the right and left of the lift as you come out. Scanning either counts.

0m22s / Visual 

• Motion Sensor Camera - there's another motion sensor camera on the ceiling just in front of the giant TV. 

0m30s / Audio

Yorinobu's phone conversation - At the 30 second mark you'll be asked to listen in on Yorinobu's phone conversation in the audio layer so you can't really miss it. You can also scan the TV as an audio source to hear about cooling and ventilation. When the conversation's over, at about 1m30s, you'll be asked to find and scan the datapad for more relic storage. This can be tricky because while you can see the pad almost the whole time, it's only actually switched on right at the end of the recording. Keep working through the recording grabbing other things until you get there. 

2m05s / Visual 

• Turret and camera - Around two minutes in to Braindance you'll be able to look up to the ceiling to the right of the TV where you can see an automated turret and camera you can scan.

2m45s / Visual

• Datapad - Almost at the end of the recording, when Yorinobu gets to the bed, you'll be able to scan the datapad while it's still switched just as he puts it away.
• Gun - There's a loaded gun on a chest at the end of the bed you can also scan while grabbing the datapad. 

Scan for thermal clues to find the relic

Once you've reached the end of the recording and scanned the datapad you'll open up the thermal layer and be able to re-run the brain dance to find the heat signature for the Relic storage. There's a range of things to scan that will all be made to stand out by some blue gas that indicates 'cold'. 

Assuming you'll be working backwards from the point the Thermal layer is unlocked we'll go through all the things you can find in reverse chronological order. You can scan all the objects here if you want but it's the Hidden Safe that you want.

2m40s

Air conditioning vent - As soon you unlock the Thermal scan you'll be able to scan an air conditioning vent on the wall.

1m30s-1m56s 

Champagne and ice bucket - you can find and scan this in the middle of the timeline when people are around the coffee table. It's obviously not what you need though.

1m00s 

Fridge - around the one minute mark you can scan the fridge where Evelyn gets a drink, again though, not what you want. 

0m40-0m46s 

Hidden Safe - Right at the start of the recording, when Yorinobu and Evelyn are walking to the bar to fix a drink, you'll get a brief window where you can scan a hidden safe on the floor in the far corner of the room. That's what you need and scanning this will let you leave the Braindance if you want, even if you haven't completed the optional tasks. 

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How to rescue Brick in Cyberpunk 2077

To free Brick, you need to make a specific series of choices and take a particular path. Firstly, if you want to free Brick, you cannot pay Royce for the robot. You can take the CredChip from Meredith, which is an option that comes up before you enter the building, just don't pay for the robot. Refuse, then when given the option to shoot Royce, do it. This will begin a shootout; kill everyone, pick up the robot, and follow Jackie.

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Clear the 2-3 enemies in the first room, and move to the next area. In the second yellow-lit room at the back, with display cabinets and a shard to pick up in the corner, is a detonator. Do not activate it because if you do, Brick will die in an explosion. Either ignore or deactivate it.

Between the two yellow-lit rooms is Brick's locked cell door. Remotely deactivate the lock on the keypad, which unlocks the door. Go inside and you'll find Brick.

If you didn't deactivate the detonator, Brick will have a red laser pointing at him. If he moves an inch, he dies. You can disarm the laser inside his cell with a Technical Ability level of seven, but if not, you'll need to go back to the detonator.

When saved, Brick won't follow and help you escape, but he does say that if you ever meet him again, he'll "have you covered". If he lives, he will appear later but we won't spoil how and when.

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