Late last year CD Projekt Red finally announced the first major DLC forCyberpunk 2077, titledPhantom Liberty. Trailers for the upcoming expansion tease the inclusion of the NUSA, new characters, and a big mission for V, but it is also very possible that the upcomingCyberpunk 2077DLC will contain teases for the game’s planned sequel.
The vast majority ofCyberpunk 2077’s endingsmore or less close the book on V and Johnny Silverhand, though some leave the characters' fates ambiguous. Because of this, it’s safe to assume that the planned sequel has nothing to do with V or Johnny Silverhand. However, Phantom Liberty may include new worldbuilding material that factors into whatever CD Projekt Red has planned for the future.
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Additional Worldbuilding Possibilities in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Thefirst trailer forCyberpunk 2077: Phantom Libertyintroduced the NUSA. It’s not entirely clear what mission the NUSA has for V, but that mission apparently goes horribly wrong. The background story of the NUSA and its plans for Night City is potential sequel teasers will likely manifest.
The actualstory of the NUSA inCyberpunk 2077has a lot of dense lore going back to the original tabletop game. The NUSA attempted to pull together the former western United States territories, known as the Free States, through the Unification War in 2069. Ultimately, the war ended about a year later, resulting in the Free States remaining free and relations between the various factions becoming more civil. By 2077, relations between the governments were deteriorating once again, with Night City being stuck right in the middle of it all.
While it isn’t entirely clear what V is doing for the NUSA, what is clear is that the character will be working for some amoral people who value the organization’s position more than the people of Night City.Idris Elba’s Solomon Reed is likely a character who cannot be trusted, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that he has something planned solely for the benefit of the NUSA. If this turns out to be the case, the events of the DLC will likely inform whatever sequel the developer has planned. Either the DLC will set up direct story beats for the sequel, or simply alter the world in ways that the game’s next protagonist will have to deal with.
Phantom Liberty Being a Sequel Set-Up Wouldn’t Be Unusual
In the past, many long-running series like the works of BioWare have teased their next installments in DLC. Often the final piece of story DLC will directly set up whatever sequel the developer has planned. For example,Mass Effect 2: Arrivaldirectly sets up the opening events ofMass Effect 3, and Shepard’s actions in the DLC are referenced throughout the game itself.Dragon Age Inquisitions' TrespasserDLC likewise sets up former supporting character Solas as the main antagonist for the franchise’s upcoming installment,Dragon Age Dreadwolf. However, in this instance, Phantom Liberty could be the first time CD Projekt Red used DLC to set up a planned sequel.
It’s currently impossible to say what the developer has planned forCyberpunk 2077.CD Projekt Red has six projects in the works, which includes aCyberpunksequel, and while there is no way of knowing what’s in store it remains likely thatPhantom Liberty will have some kind of impact on the wider universe.
Cyberpunk 2077is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
