Cyberpunk 2077 sequel officially enters full development

Despite its woeful launch, Cyberpunk 2077 became one of the most fun and immersive RPGs in recent years, unless you’re stuck with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, sadly.

It was obvious from its launch that Cyberpunk 2077 was too much of an ambitious project for last-gen consoles despite what many were led to believe. However, after many patches and content updates, CD Projekt RED’s sci-fi RPG eventually went on to become the game it promised to be. Well, at least for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S gamers.

Check out the Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty trailer below!

Then in 2023, Cyberpunk 2077 finally received its highly anticipated and critically acclaimed expansion, Phantom Liberty which starred the brooding Idris Elba as Solomon Reed. This means that along with the endlessly charming Keanu Reeves, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty has double the charisma.

In our review of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, we said: “It fills me with joy to be able to report that this is a deeply ambitious expansion that fires on all cylinders and never delivers anything less than a stellar experience. CD Projekt RED is walking away from Cyberpunk 2077 in the best possible way, delivering on the game’s immense potential and dropping one final, unforgettable adventure.”

In October 2022, the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 was announced codenamed “Project Orion”. At the time of the announcement, no story or gameplay details were revealed for the sequel other than plans were in motion.

“Our plans are certainly ambitious, and call for a great deal of work, dedication and further growth,” said Piotr Nielubowicz, vice president and CFO of CD Projekt, at the time. “This is why we’re setting up a new team in Boston, which, together with the expanding Vancouver team, will form our new studio - CD Projekt RED North America. As a result, we will be able to fully tap into the North American talent pool.”

CD Projekt RED has now announced that development of the sequel is underway and a talented team of developers is being put together. “CD Projekt RED has announced several high-profile additions to the team working on Project Orion — the anticipated follow-up to Cyberpunk 2077 being headed up by the US and Canada-based CD Projekt RED North America,” read the most recent statement.

“Project Orion is currently in the early stages of development, with studio veterans previously involved in Cyberpunk 2077 and its spy-thriller Phantom Liberty expansion spearheading the project, including Gabriel Amatangelo (Game Director), Paweł Sasko (Associate Game Director), Igor Sarzyński (Creative Director), Andrzej Stopa (Cinematic Director), Kacper Niepokólczycki (Environment Art Director), Sarah Grümmer (Acting Lead Quest Designer) and Kacper Kościeński (Engineering Director). This group is now part of a larger team based in the newly created CDPR studio in Boston, Massachusetts.”

So what has this talented team of developers worked on previously, I hear you ask? Executive producer Dan Hernberg has previously worked on Diablo III, game director Ryan Barnard on IO Interactive’s Hitman series, engineering director Alan Villani on the Mortal Kombat series, Anna Megill on Control, and finally, writer Alexander Freed has worked on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

CD Projekt RED also said that it is still looking to hire new staff to work on the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel. The question now is, when will the sequel be released? At this time, no release date has been announced. That being said, it’s worth keeping in mind that CD Projekt RED often spends more time developing its games than others, so the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel could be years away and even on next-gen consoles.

As for now, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is out on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.