Cyberpunk 2

Cyberpunk 2077 is an action role-playing game played from a first-person perspective as V, a mercenary whose voice, face, hairstyle, body type and modifications, background, and clothing are customisable. There are also five attributes (Body, Intelligence, Reflexes, Technical Ability, and Cool) that can be customised to suit the player's gameplay style, with a sixth attribute — Relic — being introduced in the Phantom Liberty expansion.

In the game, players choose from three life paths: Nomad, Street Kid, or Corpo. These choices establish V's background and determine their starting location, prologue mission, and initial clothing. While life paths do not grant advantages in perks, attributes, or levelling, they unlock unique dialogue options based on V’s history. For instance, the Street Kid path starts in Heywood and offers extensive knowledge of Night City’s streets and gangs.

S. states of North California and South California, which functions as a corporatocracy unaffected by federal or state legislation; the city was founded in the early 1990s and has continued to progress since. The city suffers from rampant gang violence, and corporate warfare, exacerbated by an ineffectual, corrupt municipal government, and police force. Night City relies on robotic technology for everyday functions such as waste management, building and infrastructure maintenance, and public transportation.

The city's architecture and fashions are derived from the four aesthetics eras it underwent—Entropism, Kitsch, Neo-Militarism, and Neo-Kitsch. Homelessness and poverty are widespread in the city but does not preclude cybernetic modification for Night City's underclasses, leading to both cosmetic addiction and high levels of violence. Those whose addictions and heavy modifications have rendered them mentally unstable, known as cyberpsychos, are dealt with by the police tactical unit MaxTac. Privatized health corporations such as Trauma Team utilise paramilitary doctors for rapid medical services.

Preliminary work on Cyberpunk 2077 began following the release of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition (2012). CD Projekt Red—CD Projekt's internal development studio—approached Mike Pondsmith, the writer of Cyberpunk and founder of R. Talsorian Games, in early 2012, sending him a copy of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011). Impressed with the studio's unparalleled knowledge of the Cyberpunk universe at the time, Pondsmith and CD Projekt Red reached an agreement to license Cyberpunk's story from the year 2077 onward to CD Projekt Red, while Pondsmith retained the rights for media in the Cyberpunk universe set up until the year 2077.

To ensure Cyberpunk's story remained cohesive during development, Pondsmith served as a consultant on the game. He also provided the voice for the DJ of an in-game radio station. Pondsmith's experience at Microsoft developing games such as Crimson Skies (2000) and Blood Wake (2001), and at Monolith Productions developing The Matrix Online (2005), provided valuable wisdom to CD Projekt Red, in comparison to Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski's indifference towards the studio during the development of The Witcher (2007) and The Witcher 2.

The game was highly anticipated before its release. It won over one hundred awards at E3 2018, including Best Game, Best Xbox One Game, Best PC Game, Best RPG, and People's Choice at IGN, Best Role-Playing Game and Game of the Show at Game Informer, Best of E3 at PC Gamer, and Game of the Show at GamesRadar+. The second trailer was considered one of the best at the expo, although writer William Gibson, credited with pioneering the cyberpunk subgenre, described it as "GTA skinned-over with a generic 80s retro-future". Gibson later responded more positively to the first gameplay demo.

The first-person perspective, in contrast with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's third-person, was subject to criticism. Cyberpunk 2077 was the most widely discussed game of E3 2019, where it was presented awards for Best of E3 at GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, Ars Technica, and Best Game, People's Choice, Best PS4 Game, Best Xbox One Game, Best PC Game, and Best RPG at IGN. The third trailer was lauded with emphasis on Reeves' reveal.