Cyberpunk 2077’s Cancelled DLC 2 is the Silver Lining that Sets the Stage for Cyberpunk 2

Cyberpunk 2077 has had a notoriously volatile relationship with the public. Ahead of launch, it was often hailed as an imminent masterpiece, an RPG from the prestigious Witcher 3 developers that would take the industry by storm. Well, it certainly whipped up a storm, but perhaps not of the kind that optimistic CD Projekt Red fans were expecting.

Despite having one of the most dramatic and difficult launches in gaming history, Cyberpunk 2077 was eventually honed into a polished, fun, and replayable action-RPG. Much of what was already great about the game at launch, such as character writing, mission design, and the atmosphere of Night City itself, became more apparent after the disposal of various bugs and performance issues, but CDPR went much further than that.

The developer has added plenty of new content to the game while reworking a number of systems, though the peak of these improvements came around the release of the Phantom Liberty DLC, which arrived alongside the transformative 2.0 update. Phantom Liberty was certainly something of a victory lap for Cyberpunk, which had come so far in the years since its release, but it may have actually been too good: now, a lot of gamers (myself included) are sad that there isn’t going to be another DLC for the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 Might Have Had a Second, Moon-Based DLC

In Summer 2024, Insider Gaming reported that files had been leaked regarding a second Cyberpunk 2077 DLC, one based on the Moon. The Moon has been a specter in Cyberpunk 2077 canon, somehow hanging over everything—literally and figuratively. Two of Cyberpunk 2077‘s endings feature the Moon in a significant capacity, it’s a repeated motif in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and it’s suggested to be the stage of further Corpo shadiness, beyond what we’ve already seen in Cyberpunk 2077.

As Earth became less habitable and more competitive, Cyberpunk‘s Euro Space Agency sought to expand its influence to black expanse of space, thus colonizing the Moon, which is often referred to as Luna in Cyberpunk lore. Luna has two major city settlements, Tycho and Copernicus, which are both highly advanced. Though their populations are small—Luna colonies amount to about 58,000 people total, during the time that Cyberpunk 2077 takes place—they are self-sufficient, sustaining themselves through underground hydroponic gardens and massive stores of lunar ice. And of course, Goliath corporations like Arasaka and Millitech have heavy presence and influence in these colonies as well.

The Moon Is an Obvious Next Step for Cyberpunk 2077 After Phantom Liberty

The Phantom Liberty DLC expanded Cyberpunk 2077‘s world by an order of magnitude. While the base game’s campaign implicates global forces, its scope is ultimately limited to a single metropolis: Night City. Phantom Liberty grew this scope to include the entire New United States of America, its narrative centering squarely on powers far beyond Night City and its own tumultuous history. The next order of magnitude could arguably be the entire globe, but an even larger, more decisive one would be space—the final frontier itself.

This would also make sense, considering the end of Phantom Liberty. In the DLC’s climax, V has to decide whether to help Songbird escape to the moon or hand her over to Solomon Reed. Regardless of what the player chooses, the expansion uses the Moon as a symbol for the future: Songbird’s last hope is not to escape to a country outside NUSA control, but to the Moon. The same can be said for Cyberpunk 2077‘s Sun ending, which culminates in V continuing their journey in space. In Cyberpunk 2077, as in the real world, space is often representative of endless possibility and growth.

Cyberpunk 2077’s Allegedly Scrapped Moon DLC Might Be Better If It’s Repurposed for Project Orion

Cyberpunk 2077‘s sequel, currently known as Project Orion, is mostly a mystery at this point. There have been rumors that it will be set in Chicago or another major city, but nothing has been confirmed. A game that is wholly set in space or on the Moon may be a bit too great a departure, but including the Moon as a substantive, explorable area, even if it’s much smaller than the main map, wouldn’t be jumping the shark too much.

There’s more than enough lore to support one or more interesting stories set on Cyberpunk‘s rendition of Earth’s Moon, and with the satellite being so significant in Phantom Liberty, Edgerunners, and the minds of so many fans, it seems overly ripe for examination. If one assumes that CDPR began work on a Moon-based DLC for Cyberpunk 2077, even if it never got past the conceptual phase, then it’s easy to imagine how the studio could pivot this scrapped expansion into something special in Project Orion.

Released

December 10, 2020

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol