Cyberpunk 2077: Everything we know about CD Projekt's The next RPG. Cyberpunk 2077 is the next big RPG from CD Projekt RED after concluding the Witcher series. Silver swords are out, but cybernetic blades are very much in. For a couple months, information about Cyberpunk 2077 was dropping almost every week. We met Keanu Reeves' character, got details about the story, and have seen several new videos both trailers and gameplay.
With release day pushed back to September from its initial April date, there's still plenty of time for CD Projekt RED to drip feed new information. Until then, we've absorbed all of the precious Cyberpunk 2077 deets and consolidated them into a digestible briefing. When the information train starts back up again, you'll be able to find out what's new right here.
Here's everything you need to know about Cyberpunk 2077.
September 17, 2020 is the release date for Cyberpunk 2077. The RPG was initially set for an April 16 launch, but CD Projekt RED announced in January that it needs "more time to finish playtesting, fixing and polishing". When it launches in September it'll come to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia.
Preorders for Cyberpunk 2077 have already started. We've also got all the details on what's included in the Cyberpunk 2077 Collector's Edition.
- Cyberpunk 2077 won't be delayed to the coronavirus outbreak, CDPR says
- CD Projekt RED already has plans for its next big game after Cyberpunk 2077
- CD Projekt RED redesigned lady V's look pretty drastically.
- Players who buy Cyberpunk 2077 on the Xbox One X will receive a free upgrade to the Series X version when it comes out
- Musician Grimes recently revealed new (spoiler-filled) details on the character she's playing in Cyberpunk 2077, Lizzy Wizzy.
- You'll be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 on GeForce Now the day it releases
Cyberpunk 2077 will have around 75 "handcrafted" Street Stories
CDPR has previously explained that each of Cyberpunk's quests is "handcrafted," including the Street Stories, side quests similar to Geralt's monster hunting contracts in The Witcher 3.
In a new interview with OnMSFT, CD Projekt's Krakow studio head John Mamais said there will be about 75 such Street Stories and explained a bit more about how they'll work.
"I think there’s around 75 street stories. Then there’s minor activities as well," Mamais said. "The street stories are like little quests. There’s story but there’s not, like, advanced cinematic storytelling sequences so much. They’re a way to explore the world and level-up your character.
"They’re all custom done. There’s nothing like that that’s automatically generated. There are set templates that the guys can use but each one is customized to make them feel unique. The world’s going to be filled with that stuff. It should feel really good."
Lady V has gotten quite a redesign since early trailers
Is Cyberpunk 2077 an FPS?
Dare we say that Cyberpunk 2077 is a first-person shooter RPG? We dare. Though cutscenes and driving sometimes switch to third-person, Cyberpunk 2077 involves alot of first-person shooting. With guns. Lots of guns. It's chaotic and fast-paced, but was less aggressive than, say, Doom. During a firefight in the opening moments of the demo, V, the main character, ducked and peeked around cover to spray a gang of organ scavengers with bullets from her automatic pistol. Like Destiny 2, numbers indicating damage dealt exploded with each landed shot—but enemies didn't feel like bullet sponges. We also love how agile V can be.
Though there's quite a bit of variety in what abilities V has, in the 2018 demo she was an agile cyberninja. She could run and slide to cover and also trigger a slow motion bullet-time mode. She also had a quick dash that let her burst in a specific direction. When bullet-time and this dash were combined, she could quickly flank enemies and deliver fatal killshots.
We also saw a ton of cool weapons, and yes, there are weapons other than guns, though again, there are a lot of guns. A street-modified Tech Shotgun could penetrate cover and enemies, which was a deadly combo when paired with V's upgraded optic implant that could show her enemies through objects. A Smart Rifle takes all the skill out of shooting by firing bullets that track enemies. You merely aim in their general direction and it'll lock onto multiple targets and fire bullets that automatically track their intended targets.
So while of course this is still a CD Projekt open-world RPG, with all the expected trappings like exploration, dialogue, skills, and so on, it's also a shooter, in first person.
Cyberpunk 2077 character creation
During the 2018 demo we got a quick peak of the character creation screen. You can customize hair, tattoos, and clothing. It doesn't look like you can change your character's bone structure, though—no deep menu of facial feature sliders here.
At E3 2019, quest director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz explained to Gamasutra that Cyberpunk's character creation won't be limited by gender. "We have put a lot of thought into this. One of the things we want to do in the final game (which we couldn't show in the demo yet, because as you mentioned it's a work in progress) is to give the players as many options of customization in the beginning of the game as we can."
CDPR is also working on customizable voices for V. Tomaszkiewicz did specify at the time that these are all things the team "wants to do," not already has done, so there's no surefire promises that this will carry into the final game.
You can also change your stats. There are basics like Strength and Intelligence, but also a 'Cool' stat that determines how well you handle stress, which affects weapon accuracy. The full list from what we saw in the demo: Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, Reflexes, Tech, Cool. Notably, there are some important stats from the tabletop Cyberpunk not represented here, like Empathy. More on why that's significant below.
You can also change your backstory, referred to as a Lifepath, choosing from Nomad, Corpo or Street Kid, which each have their own origin story and starting location in the world. Each Lifepath unlocks unique dialogue options that can alter how quests play out, so it's an important decision to make early on.
However you customize your character, you're still one specific person: V. Not 'Vee.' Just V. You're a mercenary, and that's most of what we know so far.
You can finish Cyberpunk 2077 without killing anyone
Cyberpunk 2077 will let you play the game without ever killing anyone, a great feature for folk who want to roleplay a less bloodthirsty V. But the game wasn't always planned this way. After feedback from E3 2018, CDPR took time to add non-lethal options to almost all of its weapons and cyberware upgrades.
We say "almost," because there are some reasonable exceptions. There's no non-lethal setting for the bazooka, for example. "Pretty much every gun, pretty much every cyberware, you're able to use in a nonlethal way. You're able to knock them down, choke them, make them sleep and so on. There are ways not to kill them and spare them, like the way you could do with Sasquatch, the boss," lead quest designer Paweł Sasko told PC Gamer.
Who is Keanu Reeve's Cyberpunk 2077 character, Johnny Silverhand?
The world basically exploded in excitement when Keanu Reeves showed up in the Cyberpunk 2077 trailer at E3 2019. It's cool enough that he's making an appearance, but it's even cooler that he's playing Johnny Silverhand, a well-known character from the original 1988 Cyberpunk tabletop game.
Though, CDPR's interpretation of Silverhand takes the character in an interesting direction: Silverhand is already dead, and lives in V's head as a "digital ghost." We were half-expecting a Hollywood celebrity role to be a small side character, but Keanu's Silverhand appears to be a main character in Cyberpunk's story.
In the tabletop game, Silverhand is a Rockerboy, a subclass in the lore that basically acts like a traditional Dungeons & Dragons bard. His original design is much more rooted in the tabletop game's '80s-inspired Cyberpunk aesthetic. 2077's Silverhand is has a rougher John Wick-like vibe, but still sports his iconic cybernetic arm all the same.
Will there be romance?
As much "romance" as you can find in a cyberpunk future, yes. Like in The Witcher 3, you'll be able to pursue romance as V. Because Cyberpunk includes character creation, these romance options will be more diverse than they were in The Witcher series.
"There are a lot more options. You know, you're defining your own character here, which means defining their sexuality any way you want," quest designer Patrick Mills said in an interview with Game Informer. "With Geralt, you had a character whose sexuality was very well defined by the novels and the short stories and the previous games. But in this one, it's up to you to decide. We've got NPCs that are gay, we've got NPCs that are bi, we've got NPCs that are straight, because we want them to feel real and that they have preferences as well."
In June, CDPR said that romantic plot lines will be "similar" in scope and detail to Geralt's relationships, despite there being more of them. CD Projekt Red clarified to us further: "Romancing is something heavily present in Cyberpunk, and players will be able to form meaningful connections with other characters as well as go for one night stands."
That's all fine and good, but unfortunately, you can't smooch Keanu. "Keanu plays a crucial role in the game, but as for the option to romance him, I don’t believe you can," level designer Max Pears told VGC at Tokyo Game Show 2019.