How To Wait (Skip Time) in Cyberpunk 2077

[Updated on August 17, 2024, to revise outdated formatting and improve readability.]

If you spent at least a few hours in Night City, you know that many missions and game activities are time-based. Some NPCs visit the bar only in the evening, and someone promises to call and tell you the details of the quest in 2 days. Of course, you can be a fan of realism and wait for all the events in real time. But if you don’t want to wander around the city aimlessly, you can skip a couple of hours until the desired time point. Luckily, Cyberpunk 2077 has a proper Skip Time mechanic available from the beginning of the game, and if you want to wait a little, we’re here to help you.

To skip time in Cyberpunk 2077, you only need to go to the Character Menu and select the appropriate function. You can find the corresponding button in the lower-left corner of the screen next to the game time. But if you’re a beginner, here are more specific steps:

1. First, press the touchpad on PlayStation, the View on Xbox, or I on PC to go to the Character Menu.
2. Look at the clock in the lower left corner of the screen and click on the Skip Time button near it.
3. Next, turn the slider for a certain number of hours or until a specific time of day (depending on what is required for your current purposes).
4. Confirm the selected time, and you will move into the future.

As we said earlier, Wait Mechanic in Cyberpunk 2077 is available from the beginning of your adventures. Although it has undergone some visual changes since the game’s release, the process has remained unchanged. The maximum time you can skip is 24 hours. But you can use this function repeatedly to wait more time.

It is worth noting that this function is not perfect and has several logical limitations. For example, you can not skip time while in battle or participating in active mission events. In addition, some time-based missions may not work correctly if you want to skip time. For example, the NPC promised to call you in 24 hours, and you decided to wait this time using in-game mechanics. In this case, you will receive a call a little later. Also, some missions require real waiting and will not initiate the next active stage unless you wait in real-time (but there are few such quests).