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Considering the critical and commercial success of Phantom Liberty, you might think Cyberpunk 2077 was about to start down a long road of similar expansions. That’s not the case. Before the DLC was even released, CD Projekt Red announced it would be the only major expansion the game would receive. Some fans aren’t delighted with that decision. It seems strange, after all, to walk away from the game when it’s doing better than ever, but CDPR has a few excellent reasons to do so. Here’s why the best thing that could happen for Cyberpunk fans is for DLC development to stop.
CD Projekt Moves To Unreal Engine 5
Cyberpunk 2077 has more in common with The Witcher 3 than just their open worlds and popularity: CDPR created both using REDengine. CD Projekt Red’s proprietary engine has done some incredible things in its time. Night City and the Continent are both dense, detailed locations packed with engaging content for players to discover. The more complex the game, the more a developer’s choice of engine makes a difference. CDPR is retiring REDengine after Phantom Liberty and moving to Unreal Engine 5 instead. Switching engines is a big deal, but it’s one that makes sense.
Unreal Engine 5 is as flexible as it is powerful, making it a great choice for the development of open-world games. CDPR is at the very beginning of its design process with Cyberpunk‘s sequel (codenamed Orion), so details on the project are scarce. That said, it’s pretty much guaranteed that the sequel will be at least as ambitious as its predecessor. A good engine needs to handle everything from ragdoll physics and particle effects to explosions and bullet trajectories in a way that’s fun and makes sense, which is a lot to ask. If CDPR believes Unreal Engine 5 gives it the best chance of making Orion great, it makes sense to leave Cyberpunk and REDengine behind.
Phantom Liberty Perfects V’s Narrative
Needing time to master a powerful new engine isn’t the only good reason to end the production of Cyberpunk DLC. The original game already tells a long and complicated story, and Phantom Liberty just made it bigger. The story sees V transform from a relatively ordinary mercenary to one of the most dangerous people in Night City. Whether you start as a Nomad, Streetkid, or Corpo, you end the story as a borderline superhero. V becomes the type of person Night City fixers can rely on to accomplish the impossible. V’s story is funny, tense, and occasionally heartbreaking, the kind of story that’s ruined if it overstays its welcome.
Without spoiling anything, it’s fair to say that Phantom Liberty‘s story and ending are the perfect conclusion to V’s saga. The tale of Songbird, Solomon Reed, and what happens in Dogtown is the ending that V deserves. If there’s a developer that could do V’s story justice with a follow-up DLC, it’s CDPR, but that’s not enough reason to take the risk. CD Projekt Red will either wait until Orion to continue V’s story or let it end with the Phantom Liberty DLC. Either way, it makes sense not to produce further Cyberpunk expansions.
Orion and The Witcher 4
Phantom Liberty‘s end and Orion’s beginning aren’t the only reasons CDPR is wise to move on. There’s a second huge RPG in the developer’s stable: The Witcher 4. Many players are desperate for more time with Geralt of Rivia. Leaving Cyberpunk behind frees CD Projekt Red up to get to work on the next installment in the monster-slayer’s saga. Players have every right to be frustrated that Cyberpunk 2077 won’t receive additional support beyond the usual patches. Still, it’s hard to deny that CDPR is making the right choice in moving on to other projects. The 2.0 update and Phantom Liberty are brand new. It will take players a long time to exhaust their content. The sooner CDPR moves on, the sooner Orion and The Witcher 4 arrive.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
