Despite having multiple choices and paths, there’s no version of Cyberpunk 2077 that has a happy ending. One way or another, either protagonist V or their digital parasite Johnny Silverhand heads into digital oblivion, and the other is left to live whatever life is left in V’s body. Each ending is bittersweet and has its own pros and cons, and ultimately, that’s kind of the beauty of it for me. I love that Cyberpunk 2077’s endings are a declaration of what V is willing to live for, and each can feel like a meaningful conclusion to both their and Johnny’s arc. But it sounds like developer CD Projekt Red is about to shake that up with the Phantom Liberty expansion, because the studio has confirmed it will add a new ending to the game.
In an interview with WCCFTech, Game Director Gabe Amatangelo explained that Phantom Liberty will have its own multiple endings, but depending on what happens in the expansion, it can unlock another conclusion to V and Johnny Silverhand’s story. Because the new story takes place before the finale, in which V battles their way through Arasaka Tower to reach Mikoshi, there’s a chance for a new outcome.
“This takes place in the midst of [the main Cyberpunk 2077 story],” Amatangelo told WCCFTech. “You get to a certain point in the game, and [Phantom Liberty] unlocks, but of course, we let you skip right to it much like it was done in The Witcher 3‘s expansions. It’s the same thing as it takes place during. Now it has endings, different endings based on how things play out. Then, based on the ending within Phantom Liberty, you can unlock a new ending in the base game.”
From the sound of it, this won’t unlock a whole swath of new outcomes, but at least one new ending is in the works.
“There’s one new ending in the base game because there’s already a bunch in the base game endings,” Amatangelo said. “But there’s a new one that has to do with your new relationships and characters and situations here.”
Phantom Liberty’s framing is that a new character called Songbird approaches V with a promise of fixing the malfunctioning relic in their head, which is causing Johnny Silverhand’s digital copy to overwrite V’s mind. While we don’t yet know how Phantom Liberty will pan out, if V can get some kind of new tool or resource to save their life, it might open the door to a happier ending amidst a lot of hard choices.
On paper that doesn’t sound quite as appealing to me, as I think part of what makes Cyberpunk 2077’s ending so effective is that it’s about choosing what it means to V to live or die, to be remembered or forgotten, to be loved by a few or loved by all. V’s mortality plays into the themes of this game in such a way that getting a get-out-of-jail-free card might feel like a cop-out. But hey, if it’s just a choice to be made and not something you’re railroaded onto, I won’t have to undo the bittersweet ending I got.
Phantom Liberty launches on September 26, and is overhauling a lot of systems in the process. It will run you $30, but some of its systemic changes will be available to all players.
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