Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion has the largest budget yet for a CD Projekt Red add-on content. Speaking to Polish financial news outlet Parkiet, the developer’s investor relations manager, Marek Bugdoł, suggested that this was the biggest expansion in the studio’s history budget-wise. The director also stated that the company is “comfortable” with the current work cycle on Phantom Liberty. Cyberpunk 2077 development was rushed to meet its 2021 launch date, resulting in a host of technical issues at launch.
While not explicitly stated, a certain portion of the increased budget would have gone towards casting Idris Elba (The Suicide Squad, Molly’s Game) in a major role for the Phantom Liberty expansion. In it, he stars as Solomon Reed, an FIA agent for the ‘New United States of America’, a faction to which the player character, V, swears allegiance. Plot details are scarce, but a September teaser revealed that Keanu Reeves will reprise his role as the magnetic Johnny Silverhand, who thinks V’s newfound oath is a “bad idea.” Expect tons of dead government officials, new characters, and an electric whip as you take on an “impossible mission” of espionage and survival in the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 expansion.
On the official Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit, there was a minor misunderstanding among members, who believed that Phantom Liberty was the “biggest expansion” in CD Projekt Red history – before Parakeet’s report was updated. However, Community Director Marcin Morton jumped at the opportunity and clarified that it was simply the biggest in terms of budget. “I just wanted to point out that this part is about the biggest budget when it comes to expansion packs that we’ve released. We will talk more about the details of the game scope in the future,” he commented. Currently, CD Projekt Red’s biggest paid expansion, by scope, is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s Blood and Wine, which added about 40 hours of gameplay to the base game.
As previously reported, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will be a paid expansion. While pricing has not yet been set, CDPR felt it necessary to clarify the details, as the studio is known for dropping multiple add-on content for its titles. The free versions are referred to as “DLCs” while the larger, long-term developed content is referred to as an “expansion”.
Long-dormant interest in Cyberpunk 2077 peaked after the premiere of the Netflix anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners – at one point, it was drawing a million players a day, both on consoles and PC. Of course, part of this resurgence had to do with the developers fixing many of the technical issues that prevented players from having a good experience on the streets of Night City. A similar spike was seen in The Witcher 3’s player count after the Henry Cavill-led live-action series hit Netflix.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Expansion will release sometime this year on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X.
