Almost two years on from its initial release our first look at the first Cyberpunk 2077 expansion is here. The new single-player expansion is officially called Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty and is set to extend your time in Night City quite drastically. If you're completely unfamiliar with the expansion, then we've got all the details you need to know.
Including the release date, where the story ties in with the existing narrative, and which platforms it'll release on. That way, you'll be completely ready for its eventual launch.
Latest news
The release date has finally been confirmed for Cyberpunk 2077's newest DLC, the Phantom Liberty expansion! We can confirm that the scheduled release date for CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 update will be September 26, 2023. Be sure to check out the countdown below for exactly when you can get your hands on it and head straight to Dogtown!
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty DLC release time
You can check out this tweet below from the game's official Twitter page, which highlights that the Phantom Liberty DLC will be available at midnight local time for all consoles. For the PC version of the game, however, the expansion will drop at 1 am Central European time.
This still means it will be available at midnight for PC players on BST time, but for players in North America, it will be at 7 pm Eastern Time, or 4 pm Pacific Standard Time.
For more information on your local time, check out the handy map in the tweet below.
Not long now, chooms!
Following the Xbox discussion at this year's Gamescom, we've been bestowed some awesome news regarding the upcoming Phantom Liberty expansion. Below, we'll go through all the new details we have for CD Projekt RED's latest foray into Night City.
Phantom Liberty expansion release date
We can confirm that the Phantom Liberty expansion DLC will be released on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X on September 26, 2023. So we now know that we only have a short month to wait until we can dive into a brand new narrative that spreads across Night City. So far, we have no news as to whether the PC and Playstation release dates will differ from the Xbox ones, but we'll be sure to update this article once we know!
Updated skill tree
CD Projekt RED has revamped the Cyberpunk 2077 skill tree almost entirely in the upcoming expansion and update. There was a push for enhanced player creativity, and you can really tailor your V to your play style. Do you want to be the katana-wielding netrunner, or even the Terminator? Yes, that's right, you can create a build now fully inspired by the Terminator.
This includes a Fury state, so the more you push into a fight, the more health there is to be regained by draining the life out of your foes. Hasta la vista, (cyber)punk.
Reworking the realism of Night City
We know that CD Projekt RED are keen to bring even more realism to Cyberpunk 2077's Night City. They want to make the technological metropolis seem more lived-in, with smarter AI improvements that infuse the game with a far more dynamic sense of life.
With this comes the opportunity to play the game your way. The combat system with regards to vehicles is being almost completely overhauled, meaning you'll now be able to free aim while in the middle of a high-speed chase, giving you the opportunity to shoot out tyres or blow up gas tanks. You can even commandeer vehicles with built-in weapons, so you can screech through the streets with a Gatling gun raining hell upon whomsoever you see first.
It's a really interesting new development, and calls back to the very first opening scene in Cyberpunk 2077, when V is driving around amidst chaos and Jackie is shooting madly out of the car window.
CD Projekt RED wanted to push player creativity with these quality-of-life changes, and judging by the freedom afforded to you, these updates will do just that.
Reworked law enforcement system
Another change that the developers have made is to update the existing police and law enforcement system in Night City. This sees a huge rework of the police AI, meaning they will react to you depending on how bad you've been.
There are also updates to MaxTac's, with various different archetypal units deployed depending on the situation. And you won't just have to worry about being the only one starting a fight. Gangs will now fight each other, which only adds to the push for a more realistic, thriving, and very much alive city. It's sure to make for some interesting gunfights.
There's been a lot to unpack from this newest update, and we're sure you as excited as we are about the upcoming release of the Phantom Liberty expansion. Even with all this new information, there is sure to be so much more to uncover when it releases on Xbox Series S and X on September 26, 2023.
Be sure to keep checking back, because we'll have all the info as soon as it's available! Below you can find all the previous updates we heard for the Phantom Liberty expansion, as well as discussions on Cyberpunk 2.0.
Today, we got our first confirmation of the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty expansion! During a livestream designed to promote the upcoming Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime series, CD Projekt Red debuted a trailer for the Phantom Liberty DLC. You can check it out here:
When is the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty release date?
All we know so far is that the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty expansion will be released at some point in 2023. That is the release window confirmed by CD Projekt Red during their Night City Wire livestream, and all we have to go off so far.
As such, we'll need to wait until next year before getting the chance to experience a new story in Night City. That may seem like a long wait, but Cyberpunk fans are already used to their fair share of delays and long waits for updates. Therefore, it'll probably breeze by.
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty gameplay and plot
As you may well expect, Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty will retain the same first-person RPG gameplay as the base game. We don't get much of a look at gameplay, though a few shots of V wielding a two-handed cannon and sword prove that you can expect more of the gameplay that we saw in the original.
In terms of the plot, it seems like V has been brainwashed by the government and recruited to do the bidding of the American higher-ups. We hear V, this time in female form, reciting a pledge of fealty to the US government before Johnny Silverhand warns her that she's made a big mistake. Yes, Keanu Reeves is returning as the gruff metal-armed rockstar once again, so expect him to play a major role. Perhaps he returns to V's consciousness somehow?
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty platforms
Interestingly, the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty expansion will not release on all of the same platforms as the base game. At the reveal event, CD Projekt Red confirmed that it would discontinue support for the game on older consoles, namely PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
As such, the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty DLC will be released solely on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Those are also the only platforms that will receive future performance updates and patches to keep things running smoothly.
How much will Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty cost?
At the time of writing, we don't know exactly how much the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty expansion will cost. Considering it's a fairly fleshed-out DLC pack set to add plenty of new areas to explore and baddies to shoot, it certainly won't be free.
All we need to do is take a look at the cost of the previous CD Projekt Red DLC to get an idea of what the price may be. The first expansion for The Witcher 3, Hearts of Stone, cost £7.99/$9.99. Its sequel, Blood and Wine, was priced higher at £15.99/$19.99. If we had to guess, the Phantom Liberty expansion will probably be priced at the latter cost, given it seems to be fairly substantial.
That's it for all the information we have so far on the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty DLC! Be sure to check back often, because we'll update this guide as soon as we know more about the expansion. And if you're looking to mod your way through Night City while you wait, we've got some awesome guides that show you how to install colourful custom cyberware, as well as how to turn Night City into the Matrix!