Cyberpunk 2077 Sequel Cyberpunk 2 Enters Pre-Production — and Yes, CD Projekt Is Officially Calling It Cyberpunk 2 Now

Cyberpunk 2077 sequel Cyberpunk 2 has officially entered pre-production, developer CD Projekt has confirmed.

The workplace made the announcement arsenic portion of its latest fiscal results, wherever it said the Phantom Liberty enlargement for Cyberpunk 2077 had deed an awesome 10 cardinal copies sold.

96 of CD Projekt’s 730 developers are present moving connected Cyberpunk 2, it added. The bulk of the unit (422) is moving connected The Witcher 4, which is successful afloat production.

What is pre-production ? In the satellite of AAA development, pre-production tin impact everything from creating concepts to readying afloat production, gathering prototypes to staffing up studios. It tin often instrumentality years to complete.

Cyberpunk 2 inactive sounds a agelong mode off, then. Indeed, truthful does The Witcher 4. But we astatine slightest present cognize what CD Projekt is calling the game, aft it was referred to antecedently arsenic its codename, Orion.

We cognize adjacent to thing astir Cyberpunk 2, but earlier this period Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith teased immoderate antecedently chartless details. Pondsmith, who worked intimately with CD Projekt connected the 30 million-selling Cyberpunk 2077 and was progressive successful promoting the crippled up of its 2020 launch, was asked astir the scope of his engagement with Orion astatine the Digital Dragons 2025 conference.

Responding, Pondsmith admitted helium wasn’t arsenic progressive this clip around, but said helium does reappraisal scripts and had been to CD Projekt to cheque retired the ongoing work.

“Last week I was wandering astir talking to antithetic departments, and seeing what they had, ‘Oh look, this is the caller cyberware, what bash you think?’ ‘Oh yeah, that’s beauteous good, that works here.’ "

96 developers astatine CD Projekt are moving connected Cyberpunk 2. Image credit: CD Projekt.

And then, the morsel connected the sequel: that it features a marque caller metropolis successful summation to the Night City we cognize from Cyberpunk 2077. Pondsmith described this caller metropolis arsenic “like Chicago gone wrong.”

“I spent a batch of clip talking to 1 of the situation guys, and helium was explaining however the caller spot successful Orion, due to the fact that there’s different metropolis we sojourn — I’m not telling you immoderate much than that but there’s different metropolis we visit. And Night City is inactive there. But I retrieve looking astatine it and going, yea I recognize the consciousness you’re going for this, and this truly does work. And it doesn’t consciousness similar Blade Runner, it feels much similar Chicago gone wrong. I said, ‘Yeah, I tin spot this working.'”

It’s worthy pointing retired that Pondsmith’s comments bash not needfully suggest the Cyberpunk sequel volition diagnostic a aboriginal Chicago, alternatively a metropolis that has the feel of a dystopian mentation of the city. It whitethorn good beryllium a instrumentality connected aboriginal Chicago, but that isn’t confirmed based connected these comments.

There is besides already immoderate statement astir whether Cyberpunk 2 volition grow upon the Night City that’s successful Cyberpunk 2077 oregon diagnostic a caller version, and the grade to which it is playable. There are a batch of unknowns, but it looks similar determination whitethorn beryllium 2 fleshed retired playable cities successful this sequel astatine the precise least.

It's a hugely engaged clip for CD Projekt, of course. There’s a caller Cyberpunk animation task connected Netflix pursuing the well-received Cyberpunk: Edgerunners successful the works. In the shorter term, Cyberpunk 2077 is acceptable to motorboat connected Nintendo Switch 2 adjacent month.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].