CD Projekt Red has revealed new story details and a fresh trailer for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty in a Night City Wire showcase detailing upcoming changes and additions to the game.
During proceedings, the studio confirmed the long-awaited Update 2.0 for Cyberpunk 2077 will launch ahead of Phantom Liberty, on 21 September 2023, with this base game overhaul available for everyone on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC for free. This update will introduce a new skill tree and perks, revamped cyberware, fresh vehicle combat options, AI improvements, and crafting changes, amongst a host of other tweaks.
As revealed, Phantom Liberty will also get a range of combat changes to improve the uniqueness of your character build. According to the game’s director, Gabriel Amatangelo, incoming tweaks will allow you to tackle combat in more complex ways, whether you choose a stealthier approach, or an all-guns blazing skirmish. In addition to these builds, you can also take the ‘ninja’ route in Phantom Liberty, and use a new sword weapon to deflect bullets and inflict high damage.
Read: Cyberpunk 2077: What’s coming in Update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty?
Phantom Liberty will also allow players to embody a Netrunner with a preference for causing explosions from a distance, and a ‘slugger’ type character who wields a heavy mallet. Any approach is viable – and no matter which path you choose, the world of Phantom Liberty appears to be your oyster.
New Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty trailer spotlights Idris Elba
Beyond revealing new capacity for mayhem and destruction, the latest Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire showcase also played host to the reveal of a new cinematic trailer for Phantom Liberty. In it, we’re introduced to Idris Elba’s Solomon Reed, a retired special agent who appears to be in partnership with Songbird, a mysterious figure in Cyberpunk 2077 lore.
In the trailer, Reed briefly interacts with Songbird, before realising something is wrong – at which point, a fight initiates and Reed is shot multiple times. Then, the action switches to the ‘present’ future seven years later, where the President of the New United States greets Songbird, and is then seemingly dispatched as a missile hits her ship.
There’s plenty of intrigue in this cinematic trailer, and not a lot of questions answered – which certainly paints a rich backdrop for Phantom Liberty. If Solomon Reed was really killed seven years before the expansion DLC, how does he appear in the story? What’s Songbird’s role in all that destruction? How does V become embroiled with the New United States government?
Players will get to find out when Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X?S, and PC on 26 September 2023. You can catch up with all the latest game reveals via the new Night City Wire on YouTube.
