All you need to know about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
The new Cyberpunk DLC is on the mind of every CDProjekt Red fan, for one reason or another, so we’ve assembled all of the confirmed details about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is the massive upcoming full-scale expansion to the huge RPG by Witcher creators CD Projekt Red. Content creators and fans got their first chance at tackling it head-on and hands-on at Summer Games Fest 2023. The hands-on demo was a free-play segment, so everybody’s experience was unique. We’ve looked at tons of coverage and have collated as much information as possible to get a clear picture of what fans can experience in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Release date
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will release on September 26, 2023, for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. It will be a next-generation-exclusive title, so older systems won’t be accommodated.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty file size
It has been revealed that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will require 71 additional gigabytes of storage on top of the base game’s 70-gigabyte size. This will more than double the amount of space the game takes up, so Cyberpunk won’t be any less space-intensive.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty lore
The new DLC for Cyberpunk will be an official, fully canon continuation of the events in the first installation. It happens after the events of the main game and offers some wide-ranging repercussions when it comes to the story. At the end of Cyberpunk 2077, protagonist V can find themselves in several different circumstances depending on what they chose to do during the course of the Cyberpunk campaign. As the official continuation of the game, it offers a new possible ending for V and a possible “official” ending designation for one of the existing ones.
Will Phantom Liberty give a canon ending to Cyberpunk?
There are six different endings in Cyberpunk’s main story at the time of writing. These are Path of Least Resistance, The Devil, The Star, Temperance, The Sun, and The Secret Ending Path.
In The Path of Least Resistance, V takes his own life rather than endanger the lives of anybody he loves. In The Devil, V helps Takemura get revenge for his master’s death and may then return to Earth or enter Mikoshi. The Star details V leaving Night City with the Aldecaldos gang and Panam, living out what life is left to them with their chosen family. In Temperance, V gives up their body to the consciousness of Johnny Silverhand, who returns to Night City. In The Sun, V chooses to live out what life they have left in Night City, the master of their own body.
Finally, the Secret Ending Path sees V and Johnny storm Arasaka Tower, and this ending can play out the same as The Sun or Temperance. With this new DLC, it seems like The Sun might become the canon ending to Cyberpunk’s story.
Since Phantom Liberty takes place after the event of the first game, V needs to still be alive and in Night City for the events that happen. The only ending with V alive and in Night City in the aftermath of the game is The Sun. The game will catch up with V in Night City, still infected with the terminal cyber-virus in the chip fused in his head. If all of this is true, it will mean that Cyberpunk’s original sorry
What is the main story of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty?
The inciting event of Phantom Liberty is the President of the New United States of America, or NUSA, crashes in Night City. The President, Rosalind Meyers, is being carried on the spacecraft Space Force One when she is shot down over Dogtown. Dogtown is a new neighborhood of Night City being added to the DLC. Dogtown is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in all of Night City. The plane is shot down by the Barghest Militia, a militant faction that controls Dogtown with an iron fist.
Who is Colonel Kurt Hansen in Phantom Liberty?
The Barghest militia is led by Colonel Kurt Hansen. Hansen is an ex-NUSA Colonel who went on to take over NigCity’s Combat Zone, which would become Dogtown. Hansen defected from the NUSA to become a rogue agent and tyrannical monarch of the wild neighborhood. V is brought into this rapidly-escalating situation by a third party named Songbird. Songbird is a NUSA hacker on board Space Force One and enlists V’s help to investigate the cause. It’s not a free breakfast, though, as Songbird offers V a cure for the chip.
This is where things will begin to get hairy for our protagonist. V will be sent off on a dark spy thriller in order to discover what’s happening at the heart of Dogtown and NUSA. Gameplay released during Summer Games Fest shows V extracting President Meyers and Songbird from the crash site of Space Force One. The President’s unexpected arrival in Night City is what will bring the new big celebrity name into Cyberpunk. Idris Elba’s character, Federal Intelligence Agency undercover officer Solomon Reed is going to be awoken from longtime sleeper agent status.
Who is Idris Elba? Solomon Reed explained
The new Cyberpunk DLC will include a new character played by actor, DJ, and personality Idris Elba. The character is Solomon Reed, an undercover agent in service to the New United States of America’s Federal Intelligence Agency. Trailers have shown President Meyers telling V to contact Solomon Reed while hiding out somewhere in Dogtown. Press and content creators who played the hands-on demo said that V’s first meeting with Solom is a fraught one, with neither really trusting the others.
In typical spy thriller fashion, there’s an option for V to check their trail on the way to the meeting with Solomon Reed. This allows V to discover that they are being followed by somebody and can completely change the first meeting’s tone. This DLC is often being pitched as a spy thriller, taking on a different genre from the original campaign. Footage shows Reed accompanying V throughout a variety of locales, suggesting the two will spend a lot of time over the course of the events of Phantom Liberty.
Is Johnny Silverhand back in Phantom Liberty?
The other big name appearing in Phantom Liberty is the returning headliner of Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand. The legendary cyberpunk’s fate was intertwined with V at the end of Cyberpunk 2077’s campaign, and the continuation of
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty gameplay changes
Phantom Liberty promises to absolutely revolutionize Cyberpunk’s gameplay in a variety of ways. Tons of systems have been overhauled or added to. From vehicles to weapons to cyberwar to augmentation and skills, you won’t find a shortage of new systems in this DLC.
Cyberpunk Armor changes
The armor system is being completely changed from how fans know it in the new DLC. Previously, armor stats could be modified with clothing. This will no longer be an option. In Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, fans can only up their armor by augmenting V with cybernetics of various types. That’s right, it’s chromed up or get hiding in Phantom Liberty, so phone up your Ripper Doc.
Cyberpunk vehicle changes
The vehicle system is also getting a substantial set of changes in the new DLC. Previously, vehicles could be acquired through messages from contacts. In the new DLC, there will be an online site that allows players to purchase vehicles with ease. This new storefront may have something to do with the Black Market, a brand-new purchasing option for players in Dogtown. Dogtown, unruled by police or NUSA, has a thriving black market that provides all sorts of deadly gear. This is especially useful if you want to purchase more extreme augmentations that wouldn’t fly in Night City.
In addition, vehicles now have the possibility of being equipped with weapons to amp up their contributions in combat. The mentions of the new vehicle weapon system have been somewhat unclear on just how customizable this is, but the ability to participate in a driving firefight could be more useful than ever, considering some of the other changes to Cyberpunk coming with this DLC.
Police system overhaul – Barghest Militia
The police system in Cyberpunk has been the subject of lots of player criticism since its release. Originally, police officers would suddenly spawn in around V mere moments after a crime was committed, often appearing from nowhere. While the system has been improved, it still feels incredibly binary and rough compared to similar systems in other games. In the new game, police responses have been changed, and there’s a brand new Dogtown police force to reckon with.
The Barghest Militia are the law in Dogtown, and you can expect to come to blows with them once V starts making trouble in the district. The Barghest is a monster in Northern English folklore, resembling an enormous black dog with monstrous fangs and claws. The Barghest’s canine appearance is assumably the reason that the Night City Combat Zone is now called Dogtown.
Perk tree overhaul
The Perk tree is also getting a complete overhaul in Phantom Liberty. As it is now, each attribute has three related Perk trees, each of which focuses on a different aspect of the attribute’s strategy during gameplay. In Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Perk trees will look completely different than they do now.
In the new DLC, Perk trees will now be one per attribute rather than three. The skill trees have all been merged to be one large tree per attribute, allowing players to mix and match perks from different trees more easily. Perks will also be separated into tiers in each skill tree, costing more Perk points the more powerful they are. This will offer brand-new builds and should be a breath of fresh air for players starting up Cyberpunk or starting a new run post-Phantom Liberty.
Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.
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