During a special episode of Night City Wire — a show all about Cyberpunk 2077 — CD PROJEKT RED revealed the game’s upcoming expansion, Phantom Liberty, as well as more details on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and the Edgerunners update for the game.
Introduced by Game Director Gabe Amatangelo, a sneak peek trailer showed off a glimpse into the expansion before confirming its title, Phantom Liberty. Amatangelo confirmed that a new cast of characters will be introduced in Phantom Liberty – whom V will come into contact with inside a new location within Night City.
Phantom Liberty is scheduled to release in 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Stadia.
Following the trailer, which you can watch below, a video message from Keanu Reeves was shown, where the Hollywood star revealed that he would be reprising his role as rebel rocker boy Johnny Silverhand for Phantom Liberty.
Prior to the news about Phantom Liberty, this Night City Wire special was jam-packed with information related to both the game and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the anime set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, which will air on Netflix on September 13th.
During a segment dedicated to the anime, Bartosz Sztybor — one of the creators of the show — sat down for an interview to provide insight and details about the anime, discussing the story, themes, characters, and more.
He talked about the influence of collaborators Studio Trigger — the legendary Japanese studio bringing the world of the anime to life — the anime’s connection with Cyberpunk 2077, and more.
More details were also given about Cyberpunk 2077’s latest update, the Edgerunners update (also known as Patch 1.6), which introduces items from the anime that can be equipped in the game. Players will have the chance to don the jacket worn by David Martinez, the anime’s protagonist, and wield a shotgun used by another character from the show.
Alongside Edgerunners-inspired items, the update also brings a swathe of features to the game, including a clothing transmog system, cross-platform progression, playable Roach Race minigame arcade cabinets, and much more.
The highly community-requested transmog system, or Wardrobe, is now accessible from any of V’s apartments and safe houses. Players will have the ability to save up to six outfits that can then be viewed and selected from the inventory.
Alongside this comes a cross-platform progression function, meaning saves can be uploaded to the cloud and seamlessly continued on a different platform.
With this update also comes the ability to play Roach Race at any of the arcade cabinets throughout Night City. This minigame stars the beloved figure of Roach as she gallops, jumps, and glitches through locations from The Witcher series of games in an endlessly scrolling 2D platformer.
High-scorers can expect prizes in the form of Eurodollars and items, and those who wish to play outside of Cyberpunk 2077 can also download Roach Race for free on iOS and Android. The mobile version of the game, developed in collaboration with Crunching Koalas, allows players from across the globe to compete in online leaderboards.
Another animal receiving a bigger role thanks to the Edgerunners update is Nibbles the cat, whom players have already had the chance to meet and even adopt. With this update, Nibbles is now available to pose in Photo Mode.
Apart from these features, there are also additional weapons, quests, and some new secrets to uncover in Night City. The latest REDstreams, which picked up after the conclusion of Night City Wire, was dedicated to showcasing an in-depth look at what’s coming to the game.
You can watch the new REDstreams episode by clicking here.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.