Cyberpunk 2077 Release Date, Trailer And Editions

Cyberpunk 2077 transports you to Night City, California, a dystopian megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour, and body modification. Social and economic stratification have forged Night City's six districts, in which the rich get richer and the poor are pushed further into the gutter. Housing the headquarters of the world's massive corporations, City Center acts as a beacon of wealth, prestige, and corruption. Pacifica, a slum overrun by gangs at the edges of the city, stands in stark contrast to the gleaming towers of the corporate world.

Between the two extremes, you can explore the industrial district of Santo Domingo, the endless nightlife of Westbrook, the suburban sprawl of Heywood, and the cramped streets and stalls of Watson. Each area takes up a decent amount of horizontal space; however, vertical exploration will be equally crucial. You can also venture outside of Night City into the Badlands, a brutal expanse marred by sand and ruins. A gang called the Nomads roams the wastes there, living out of their vehicles in a manner reminiscent of Mad Max.

If you want to know more about Cyberpunk 2077 — including its release date, rich setting, and unique gameplay — read on.

Cyberpunk 2077 was originally slated to come to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia on April 16, 2020. However, as with many recent AAA games, it has received multiple delays. The latest (and hopefully final) release date is Nov. 19, 2020.

Cyberpunk 2077 is being developed by CD Projekt Red, an internal team at CD Projekt, which will also publish and distribute the final product. The Polish studio is best known for creating The Witcher series, with Cyberpunk 2077 entering pre-production in 2018 once work on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine had concluded. CD Projekt first announced the title in 2012.

Adapted from the 1988 tabletop roleplaying game Cyberpunk 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 draws inspiration from several sources within the cyberpunk genre. This includes the 1982 film Blade Runner, the Japanese manga/anime series Ghost in the Shell, and the System Shock and Deus Ex video games. Cyberpunk 2077 has a larger team working on it than The Witcher 3 had even during its most intense periods of development.

CD Projekt has released several trailers for Cyberpunk 2077. The teaser trailer launched at the start of 2013, offering a glimpse of the game's setting and core themes. The video, which clocks in at just over two minutes, introduces the Psycho Squad, a police force that specializes in taking down "psychos": individuals who overuse implants and body altering substances. Psychos overdose on these enhancements, resulting in insanity and a carnage-filled killing spree.

After years of silence, CD Projekt revitalized Cyberpunk 2077 with a second trailer at E3 2018. The trailer provided the first look at V, the game's protagonist, alongside several other characters, while offering a look at Night City's finer qualities. 

Another trailer debuted at E3 2019. The cinematic vignette details a chapter in V's life when his employer betrays him after he and his partner attract too much attention while completing a heist. Though the lack of gameplay disappointed some fans, the trailer stole the show by revealing one of Cyberpunk 2077's best-kept casting secrets: cinema's most famous cyberpunk hero, Keanu Reeves.

CD Projekt released a 48-minute gameplay demo in August 2018 showing off some of Cyberpunk 2077's mechanics. Unlike the Witcher series, the game uses a first-person perspective. You play as V, a mercenary trying to make it in Night City. There are six core Stat categories — Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, Reflex, Tech, and Cool — spread across three classes: NetRunner (hacking), Techie (machinery), and Solo (combat). You can also put points in perks, which include the following branches: melee, blades, handguns, shotguns, rifles, sniper rifles, hacking, two-handed combat, assassination, "cold blood", engineering, and athletics.

As V, you can take cover, aim, run on the ground and walls, jump, double-jump, and slide. Cyberpunk 2077, which contains elements of a first-person shooter, offers three types of ranged and melee weapons: standard power weapons, wall and enemy penetrating tech weapons, and smart weapons, which can track enemies. There are four damage types you can inflict: Physical, Thermal, EMP, and Chemical. Your can also repair and upgrade your weapons by visiting a gunsmith.

Several retailers are offering bonuses for pre-ordering the game. PowerUp Rewards Members who pre-order Cyberpunk 2077 from GameStop online or in-store will receive an exclusive Samurai Medallion while supplies last. This offer only applies to physical copies of the game. In the setting, Samurai is a legendary chrome rock band whose music fostered rebellion against the corrupt system. Frontman Johnny Silverhand was one of the first characters created for the world of Cyberpunk, and both he and his band will play an important role in the upcoming game.

Best Buy will throw in an exclusive Steelbook with pre-orders for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A $20 value, the Steelbook contains detailed artwork. The version you receive will be picked at random, indicating that the retailer has more than one style available. My Best Buy members will also receive $10 in reward certificates, which you can use to purchase other games. 

Digital pre-orders of the standard game come with bonus digital content, including the game soundtrack, Cyberpunk 2020 sourcebook, an art booklet featuring art from the game, and wallpapers for desktop and mobile.

Physical copies come with the digital goodies, in addition to the following physical items: reversible cover, world compendium detailing the game's setting and lore, postcards, stickers, and a map of Night City.

Anyone who orders the game from GOG.com, which is owned by publisher CD Projekt, will also receive Cyberpunk 2077 posters, an exclusive digital booklet, and another set of wallpapers and avatars.

Coming in at $250, the Collector's Edition includes the same bonuses that come with the standard edition, alongside even more extras and upgrades. By ordering the Collector's Edition, you'll receive these additional physical items: Collector's Edition box, collectible steelbook, a ten-inch statue of V, a hardcover art book, a metal pin set, a Quadra V-Tech metal keychain, an annotated copy of a Visitor's Guide to Night City sealed in an NCPD evidence bag, and embroidered patches.

V navigates Night City either on foot or in customizable vehicles. You can also run over pedestrians and listen to the radio while cruising. The game operates on a day and night cycle, with each NPC maintaining a unique schedule that will alter their behavior depending on when you encounter them. The dynamic weather system will also play a part, with massive levels of pollution and the effects of global warming producing acid rain. 

"When the rain came, people would seek shelter," UI Director Alvin Liu told Wccftech. "Generally, we're trying to make the NPCs very believable, we want it to feel like this is a world where people actually live in, which would make players want to spend time in the world as well."

You can purchase apartments to better establish V's presence in Night City. Serving as your home base, you can change clothes, grab your gear, and even check your email. Garages are also for sale, allowing you to store your cars and motorcycles. When it comes to entertainment, Night City has a lot to offer. CD Projekt has scattered minigames throughout the districts, including hacking, boxing, auto racing, and shooting ranges.

You can customize V's sex, hairstyle, body type, body modifications, background, and clothing. Like the time of day, what you wear will affect your interactions with NPCs through the Cool stat, including your ability to initiate romantic and sexual relationships. In Night City's vainglorious world, how you look often takes center stage. You can alter your body through implants, which will define your class throughout the game. The development team is also working to incorporate options for players who wish to create transgender or non-binary characters.

At character creation, you choose from three lifepaths: Nomad, Corpo, or Street Kid. Each lifepath comes with a starting location and background elements which will alter your experience, including how quests play out and the way other characters perceive you. Every lifepath includes a playable prologue. Other customizable details include birth record, background check, biometric scan, biostates, and life events like the death of a sibling or running away from home.

At E3 2019, CD Projekt revealed Keanu Reeves would play Johnny Silverhand, the iconic singer from Samurai. Johnny serves as a primary character in the game, despite having physically died years prior. Instead, he appears as a digital ghost installed on a chip in V's head. Number two in terms of the most spoken lines within the game, Reeves' role is more than just a cameo. According to CD Projekt Red founder Marcin Iwinski, the actor spent 15 days recording his lines. "You will see a lot of Keanu and hear even more of Keanu," Iwinski said.

Once a freedom fighter, Johnny has his own agenda, and V's relationship with him comprises one of Cyberpunk 2077's main story arcs. "He has a very strong vision for how the world should work, and he's like a true cyberpunk," revealed lead quest designer Paul Sasko. "He's the guy who goes against the system, and against the corporations, and against the city that's just an embodiment of this. He knows the city holds people in shackles — this is his way of seeing things. And suddenly he's back."

Player choice stands at the center of Cyberpunk 2077's game design. Where possible, CD Projekt allows you to tackle quests in the order you choose, with the game keeping track of your decisions and creating branching pathways. These pathways reference one another, resulting in small differences in how scenes play out. The way you complete missions is also in your hands, including whether you take a lethal or non-lethal approach. You can even finish the game without killing a single person, though this will require a significant amount of stealth.

Cyberpunk 2077 includes multiple endings; which conclusion you encounter will depend on the decisions you make throughout the game. The dialogue you choose and the connections you form or break will all play a role. The game also offers several playstyle options, ranging from an emphasis on hacking and stealth that allows you to infiltrate new areas to a more brute force approach in which you shoot and slash a path through the game. Thanks to the expansive perk tree, you can mix and match abilities, creating the style that's right for you.

At E3 2018, CD Projekt revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 is "a mature experience intended for mature audiences." The gameplay demo provided a taste of this, with V carrying a naked woman she had rescued out of a building before cutting to a scene showing V waking up and moving around her apartment clad in nothing but her underwear. Packed with exposed flesh, violence, mutilated corpses, drugs, and curse words, the demo set the tone for the game's bleak version of the world. 

Cyberpunk 2077 includes full frontal nudity, a deliberate choice made by the developers. "Nudity is important for us because of one reason," said game director Adam Badowski. "This is cyberpunk, so people augment their body. So the body is no longer sacrum [sacred]; it's profanum [profane]. Because people modify everything, they are losing their connection to the body, to the meat. And that's why we need to use the nudity in many situations." Transhumanism, according to Badowski, is one of the cyberpunk genre's most important themes.

Cyberpunk 2077 will not include microtransactions, a choice CD Projekt has repeatedly driven home. The studio established its stance back in 2017, tweeting: "When thinking CP2077, think nothing less than TW3 — huge single player, open world, story-driven RPG. No hidden catch, you get what you pay for — no crap, just honest gaming like with Wild Hunt. We leave greed to others."

A letter from the CD Projekt Red team hidden in the E3 2018 trailer further established this point, addressing some core questions about the game. "Free DLC/Expansions/DRM? Expect nothing less than you got with The Witcher 3," said the letter. "As for DRM, CP2077 will be 100% DRM-free on PC. Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?" In the wake of the controversy and backlash sparked by EA's pay-to-win approach and "surprise mechanics," this news comes as a welcome breath of fresh air in a market saturated with loot boxes and gated content.

Though CD Projekt Red initially planned to incorporate multiplayer features into Cyberpunk 2077, this aspect has since been relegated to research and development so the team can focus on delivering a strong single-player experience. "We're not really working on multiplayer, our sole focus is single-player," Pawel Sasko told Eurogamer. "We'll do that, then we'll see. We're not saying no but we're not saying yes. If something does happen it will definitely be post-launch and that's as much as I can say right now."

If the developers release a multiplayer component following Cyberpunk 2077's launch, it will stay true to CD Projekt's distinct style and vision. "We're known for good stories, amazing characters, choices and consequences," Sasko continued. "So this is something for sure we'd be going with, if anything happened regarding that. We'd avoid anything that's not that. If we do it, it'll be our style." A filing made by CD Projekt for a grant back in 2016 offers a glimpse at what multiplayer might look like, citing a "seamless" experience that allows you to "search for opponents, manage game sessions" and "replicate objects."

Based on comments from UI coordinator Alvin Liu, Cyberpunk 2077 will feature large expansions reminiscent of The Witcher 3. "We are talking about expansions in the future," Liu told Prima Games. "We want to make sure everything's complete, but we also want to build open worlds. I know when I was playing The Witcher 3 and I finished everything, I still want to know what everyone was up to. I think we're going to have opportunities like that as well for Cyberpunk 2077."

Liu clarified that, unlike some publishers, they are not withholding content or storylines to use in future DLCs. Cyberpunk 2077 will have a satisfying conclusion, and they will continue to explore from there. "We're not withholding content, we're not withholding story for the future to try to, you know, monetize it or sell it in pieces or anything like that," he continued. "You're going to get the whole, full value game here." This supports the promises made in CD Projekt Red's hidden letter, which also mentioned The Witcher 3 and "Free DLC/Expansions/DRM."

To accommodate different preferences and levels of experience, Cyberpunk 2077 will feature multiple difficulty settings. Advanced gamers will be able to turn off the UI in Hardcore mode, significantly increasing the difficulty. The team has also provided options for more casual players who want to focus on the narrative or who are less comfortable with first-person shooter mechanics, including equipment that will make combat easier. 

"We want to tell a story and maybe you're a big fan of The Witcher and you're not comfortable playing a shooter, we have settings available for that," said Liu. "We even have weapons for that. If you recall from last year's demo, we had a weapon called the smart gun, which helps you aim. The bullets were much slower and usually a bit weaker. But if your aiming isn't your forte, you can always pick up the smart gun."

Much like The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 will give you the opportunity to engage in romantic and sexual encounters. CD Projekt Red has created a cast of strong characters for you to interact with, complete with their own personalities and quirks. The way you talk to and treat these indviduals will dictate their feelings towards you. True to real life, the same approach will not work on everyone. 

"If you remember from The Witcher 3 where Yennefer and Triss had very different personalities, it was interesting navigating how you would talk to one or the other," Liu shared. "So to that effect, we've selected some NPCs who'll have very rich relationships."

Incorporating Cyberpunk 2077's mature themes and dedication to realism, the game allows you to have one-night stands and exchange money for sex. According to alleged comments from Paweł Sasko, Cyberpunk 2077 will include non-heterosexual relationship options, a departure from Geralt's female-restricted appetites in the Witcher series.

Cyberpunk 2077 allows you to take control of just about any piece of technology in Night City using the Netrunning skill. You can interact with computer systems via your Cyberdeck, an implant that contains a set number of programs represented by letters and numbers. Once you've connected to a port using the cable in your wrist, a minigame will launch that displays a variety of available hacks on the right side of the screen. To initiate these hacks, you'll need to find and select the appropriate sequence of programs from the grid to the left of the list before the clock runs out.

You won't be able to hack the full system, forcing you to pick and choose access. Possibilities vary from system to system, including options like "Camera Log" and "Encrypted Data." After hacking a network, additional options will appear on your screen as you traverse the environment, presenting creative ways to take out enemies or pass by unnoticed. 

Due to the fact someone is always watching in cyberspace, the hacks you choose may have unforeseen story consequences. NetWatch, an organization dedicated to the prevention of AI anarchy, frequently monitors computer networks. The group acts as a direct foil for the Voodoo Boys, a gang who seeks to expand their access to the Net through contact with the free AIs. The way you interact with these opposing powers can end in success, disaster, and even betrayal.