We’ve rounded up all the important information you need to know about the upcoming game including:
Cyberpunk 2077 Release Date
As we learned at E3 2019, Cyberpunk 2077 has a release date of April 16, 2020 as a PlayStation 4 game, an Xbox One game, and PC game.
Cyberpunk 2077 Gameplay
Cyberpunk 2077 is a single-player open-world RPG.
Unlike The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which featured a specific hero in Geralt of Rivia, Cyberpunk 2077 will feature a robust character creation tool that allows you to customize V’s appearance, gender, tattoos/scarring, as well as their childhood hero and “Lifepath“.
As you progress through the game, decisions you make will affect the story and world around you. There is apparently no morality system in Cyberpunk 2077, and the entirety of the story can be played without killing anyone. Although “to complete [the game] non lethally, you have to be very good at stealth,” according to quest director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz. Depending on your choices, the game will feature multiple different endings.
Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t have “Classes” in the traditional sense – in that you pick one and stick with it throughout the game – rather, there are three different skill pools that you can pull from: Solo, a combat-focused lone wolf class, Techie, focused on various gadgets, and Netrunner, allowing you to hack into computers, drones, robots, and even other people’s minds to manipulate them. You can focus completely on one of these classes, or play a combination of the three of them.
Additionally, the game will not feature any game over screens if you happen to fail a mission. According to quest designer Philipp Webber, “quests have been designed to allow all kinds of player behavior, ensuring that the game never fails players for engaging in unconventional activities.”
Character progression also won’t be possible to max out during your first run, implying that the game will get a New Game Plus mode that allows you to continue refining and building out your character. Cyberpunk 2077’s lead quest designer Pawel Sasko said, “most likely it won’t be possible to max out everything on [one] playthrough, as it would have little sense to have a game that is about replayability and choices, while in the same time allow the players to max out all the stats on the first run.”
The core gameplay will feature futuristic cars and motorcycles that you can use to get around Night City. There will be a heavy emphasis on hacking drones and robots, which you can do to avoid combat scenarios and get a leg-up on your enemies. You’ll be able to augment your character with different cybernetic modifications that give you unique abilities like seeing enemies through walls, showing your damage per shot, slowing down time, and more, many of which alter your character’s HUD. During your playthrough, you’ll encounter many different characters, many of which can become romantic relationships.
Cyberpunk 2077 Story
Cyberpunk 2077 is the video game adaptation of Mike Pondsmith’s popular tabletop RPG, Cyberpunk 2020. Players will be able to select from three different origin stories, which CD Projekt Red has referred to as “Lifepaths.” You will be able to select Nomad, Corpo, or Street Kid, with each beginning in a different starting location and containing unique background stories.
The game’s story centers around V, an up-and-coming mercenary in Night City who is trying to survive amongst the various gangs and megacorporations. There is violence, drugs, and poverty surrounding you as you complete various jobs for people, earning money along the way. In this dystopian future, everyone is obsessed with augmenting themselves with cybernetic implants, something you’ll become very familiar with.
We also learned at this year’s E3 that Keanu Reeves is officially part of the cast, playing the character Johnny Silverhand, a key component of the Cyberpunk 2020 tabletop game. It’s not clear exactly how Reeves’ character fits into the story of Cyberpunk 2077, but in a recent interview he said, “My character Johnny interacts with the role-player,” Reeves said. “So I interact with whoever is playing that and I’m part of their journey, but they’re also part of mine, so you know, you’ll see what happens.” Johnny Silverhand will definitely be a significant part of the final game, however, as co-founder of CD Projekt Red Marcin Iwiński has revealed that Keanu has recorded “something around 15-ish days of voice recording in the studio.” For comparison, the only character to have more voice lines in the game is your protagonist.
Cyberpunk 2077 Setting
In Cyberpunk 2077, you’ll explore the bustling Night City, a fictional location set in the Free State of Northern California in the year 2077. The city is comprised of six districts that you’ll be able to explore: City Center, a commercial district home to many of the skyscrapers we’ve seen in the trailers, Watson District, a run-down section that is home to many immigrants and also the setting of the entire E3 2018 demo, Westbrook, home to many wealthy elites, Heywood, another wealthy district with a growing gang influence, Pacifica, an urban slum that’s riddled with gangs, and Santo Domingo, the city’s industrial district.
After playing a session of the tabletop RPG Cyberpunk 2020, we learned that the original setting of Night City is a little sillier than some might expect – though we’re not sure if that will carry over into 2077.
Cyberpunk 2077 Collector’s Editions and Preorder Bonuses
Cyberpunk 2077 will have two editions of the game, as well as preorder bonuses that can be obtained. The physical edition will retail for $59.99, and contain a compendium that details the game’s settings and lore, postcards from Night City, a map of Night City, and some stickers. In addition, you’ll also receive some digital in-game items including the full game soundtrack, an art book, the Cyberpunk 2020 sourcebook, and wallpapers for desktop and mobile.
Certain retailers are offering preorder bonuses for the game as well. Best Buy is offering a $10 reward certificate that can be used on future purchases, GameStop will include a Samurai Medallion, and GOG features an exclusive digital game booklet, some additional wallpapers and avatars, print-quality posters, and 30% off the official Cyberpunk 2077 merch store.
The game’s Collector’s Edition will retail for $249.99 and contains a slew of Cyberpunk goodies. You’ll get a Collector’s Edition box, a collectible steelbook, a 25cm x 10” statue which features V, the game’s protagonist, firing his weapons while jumping from a futuristic motorcycle, a hardcover art book, metal pin set, Quadra V-tech metal keychain, annotated copy of A Visitor’s Guide to Night City sealed in a special NCPD Evidence Bag, embroidered patches, and everything in the physical edition of the game. Hurry up though, because they are selling out quickly!
Cyberpunk 2077 Trailers
There have, somewhat surprisingly, only been three official trailers released for Cyberpunk 2077 so far:
The first teaser trailer, released in 2013.
The re-reveal trailer from E3 2018.
The cinematic story trailer (revealing Keanu Reeves) from E3 2019.
But the E3 stage presentation during Microsoft press conference featured some additional gameplay footage leading up to the release date reveal.
And there were better looks at some key characters in an announcement trailer for an official cosplay contest.
Cyberpunk 2077 News and Rumors
It’s no surprise that Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be a massive game, but based on the game’s digital preorder page on PS4, the minimum requirement for installation is expected to be 80GB, which is twice as big as The Witcher 3.
Similar to The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 is also expected to receive multiple DLC packs according to the game’s UI Coordinator, Alvin Liu, that will expand on the game’s base story. If it’s anything like their previous game, you can expect full game-sized campaigns that bring you deeper into the Cyberpunk universe.
Speaking of more of the Cyberpunk universe, Mike Pondsmith, creator of the Cyberpunk franchise, has hinted at a possible movie that would offer up a different side of Cyberpunk, saying that, “you have to adapt to the medium to make it effective.” He also mentioned that, “with Keanu Reeves being tied up in things, [the movie becomes] much more of a possibility.”
Although the behind-closed-doors demo at E3 was not made public this year, we can expect more information during PAX West—which begins in late-August—according to CD Projekt Red’s global community manager in an interaction on Twitter.
Cyberpunk 2077 Development
While Cyberpunk 2077 has technically been in development since at least 2012, development on the massive sci-fi RPG didn’t start in earnest until after The Witcher 3 expansion Heart of Stone had launched.
During that development time, CD Projekt Red has developed an entirely new engine to create a world that is “more ambitious” and “far bigger” than The Witcher 3, even opening a third studio to do so, and has worked hard to maintain secrecy on many aspects of the game (despite early design documents having been stolen) so that they could reveal gameplay mechanics and story details to the players when they’re ready.
What will you be doing first when you get your hands on Cyberpunk 2077? Let us know in the comments below! For all your other Cyberpunk 2077 coverage, stay tuned to IGN.
